Shashi Tharoor shares picture with Piyush Goyal amid rift speculation with Congress
Thiruvananthapuram: Speculation about a possible rift between Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and his party intensified after he shared a picture with Union Minister Piyush Goyal on X. This development follows Tharoor’s recent remarks about a "leadership vacuum" in the Kerala Congress, where he expressed willingness to take on responsibility if given by the party, adding that he has "other options" if not.
The photo also featured Britain's Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds. In his post, Tharoor highlighted the revival of the long-stalled Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the UK, calling it a "welcome" move.
Shortly after, Tharoor backed Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi’s appeal to the Union Government to convert the Wayanad landslide relief from a loan to a grant and to extend the deadline for utilizing the funds. Supporting her demand, Tharoor stated, "The victims of Kerala's worst disaster deserve no less!" while sharing a related news article.
Meanwhile, Senior CPI(M) leader Thomas Isaac reacted to Tharoor’s comments on Congress’s leadership vacuum, hinting at an open invitation for Tharoor to join CPI(M). Isaac remarked, "It’s a miracle that Tharoor has remained in Congress for this long. Our party has welcomed many Congress leaders in the past."
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Kerala court sentences 20-year-old man in minor girl rape case
Kollam (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court has sentenced a 20-year-old man to 21 years of imprisonment for raping a minor girl after befriending her on a social media app.
Karunagappally Fast Track Special Court judge Rajeevan Vachal sentenced the convict to 21 years under the relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, special public prosecutor (SPP) N C Premchandran said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.1 lakh on the convict, the prosecutor said.
The incident occurred in 2024 when the accused befriended her on a social media app and then offered to take her to the Azheekal beach here.
However, instead of taking her to the beach, he took her to an isolated place behind the CHC hospital at Mynagappally here and raped her, the SPP said.
Following the incident, the girl attempted suicide, but was saved and then told the doctors what had happened, the prosecutor said.
The hospital authorities informed the police, who registered a case and launched an investigation.
The prosecutor said that seven witnesses were examined and 20 documents were submitted before the court to substantiate the guilt of the accused.
