Thiruvananthapuram, July 3 (IANS) While Kerala’s ruling Left takes pride in the quality of education in the schools in the state, a cutting remark by Culture Minister Saji Cherian on the prevailing academic standards has left his cabinet colleague and Education Minister V. Sivankutty fuming and trying to control the damage.

With the new academic year just a few weeks old, Cherian, who is known for being outspoken – which saw him quitting as state minister a few years back over a remark on the Constitution before he was reinstated, left many, especially Sivankutty in a spot of bother, when he said many students who pass Class 10 examinations in the state do not even know to read or write. He further said that in the past to get the minimum pass mark of 210 marks in Class 10 public examinations was difficult, but now it’s all pass and any drop in the pass percentage is seen as a reflection of poor governance of the state government.

Cherian’s remark created ripples and a cornered Sivankutty on Wednesday took potshots at his colleague by citing his present illness.

“You all know Cherian as due to his remarks, he has run into trouble. So now he is down with fever, we will give him time to correct himself as what he said is not sure,” Sivankutty said.

A look into the 2024 SSLC Class 10 results, showed of the 4,26,892 students who appeared, 4,25,565 students became eligible for higher studies, with the pass percentage recording a high of 99.69 per cent. The pass percentage, about three to four decades back, was between 55 to 60 per cent.

Meanwhile, according to the grapevine, the dispute between the two ministers relates to their past differences as both rose from student organisations and while Sivankutty was the state chief, Cherian was a district leader and they had some issues then.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi stirred a hornet’s nest during the Prime Minister’s address in the House, as his persuasion of Congress and other Opposition MPs to disrupt the House was not only called out by Speaker Om Birla, but also the video of his objectionable act landed on social media, evoking strong criticism and reproval from the netizens.

The video, shared by BJP handles, showed the LoP egging on the fellow MPs to troop into the well of the House and engage in hooting and slogan-shouting with a motive to outshout the Prime Minister and disrupt his speech.

Their attempts to disrupt the PM’s speech, however, fell flat as PM Modi hauled them over the coals and showed mirrors on multiple issues.

However, Rahul’s attempt to disrupt the house proceedings seems not new for the Congress party.

Another video, pertaining to Sonia Gandhi, shows her using the same ‘tactics’ to drown out the rival faction.

The video, pertaining to 2012, shows Sonia Gandhi directing the party lawmakers to create disruptions in the House by making noises and raising slogans.

The two videos, put together, show Congress ‘affinity and culture’ for derailing and disrupting the House proceedings for its own interests, argue the observers.

This has also raised multiple questions for the grand old party – whether Congress does not believe in upholding democratic principles? Whether it has an underlying motive to undermine the Constitution? Whether it is a part of Congress strategy to disturb and destabilise the healthy democracy?

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala shared two videos on Wednesday, to show the contrast as to how the two parties — Congress and BJP — value the democracy.

In one video, Rahul Gandhi could be seen directing fellow MPs to jump into the well of the House and disrupt Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.

Another video shared by the BJP spokesperson showed PM Modi offering a glass of water to the Opposition MPs who tried heckling his speech from the well of House.

Notably, LS Speaker Om Birla also admonished the LoP Rahul Gandhi for prompting Opposition MPs to engage in hooting and slogan-shouting and also gesturing them to move to the well of the House.

“This doesn’t behove the post you hold,” Om Birla had told Rahul, objecting to his gestures to the Opposition MPs.

–IANS

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Kolkata, July 3 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday expressed its ire over the indefinite delay by the West Bengal Chief Secretary in granting approval for initiating trial against state government employees named as accused in the multi-crore cash-for-school-jobs case.

The division bench of Justice Arijit Banerjee and Justice Apurba Sinha Ray said that although June 7 was the deadline for the Chief Secretary’s office to communicate to the court the time by when the approval will be given, the communication has not come yet though nearly a month has passed since then.

The bench noted that although the requisite approval has come from the office of West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, formalities for beginning the trial could not be initiated as there has been no communication on this matter from the office of the Chief Secretary.

The bench on Wednesday set a deadline of three more weeks for the Chief Secretary to reply in the matter.

Noting that the court wants a quick reply in this matter, the bench said no further extension will be granted and necessary actions will follow in case of non-compliance.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has initiated proactive steps to ensure preparedness in areas prone to floods and landslides to enable emergency response as the monsoon has advanced across India, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said on Wednesday.

NHAI is working in close coordination with local authorities and administration to quickly mobilise machinery and manpower for flood or landslide-affected locations. In addition, to ensure availability of resources for effective disaster preparedness, the NHAI is mapping the availability of key machinery for timely deployment.

To avoid water logging or flood-like situations on National Highways, NHAI is undertaking joint inspections along with various state irrigation departments to ensure that flow of any running channel or stream is not hindered by a newly constructed highway.

Recently, on Delhi-Katra Expressway and other projects, a special drive was conducted in consultation with the irrigation department, according to the Ministry’s statement.

In the case of National Highways passing through urban areas, adequate pumping arrangements will be made on sections wherever there are chances of water logging. Leveraging technology, Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS), along with Rajmargyatra app will be used to disseminate information regarding any hindrance on the stretch to National Highway users, the statement added.

In hilly regions, dedicated emergency response teams equipped with sufficient manpower and machinery have been mobilised at each landslide prone site in close coordination with the district administration.

This will help to immediately clear the rubble from the National Highway to enable 24×7 connectivity and provide safe & smooth movement of traffic.

NHAI officials are also inspecting various structures which have a history of flooding to identify damage on abutments/ piers of the bridges.

Warning signs will be installed at vulnerable locations to caution road users.

In cases where there is a possibility of a national highway getting blocked due to a landslide, an alternative diversion plan has been chalked out with the district administration.

Besides, Geotechnical Instrumentation including real time monitoring at a few vulnerable slopes and tunnels is being implemented as a pilot project.

–IANS

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To ensure smooth and safe passage

Chandigarh, July 3 (IANS) To ensure smooth and safe passage to devotees going for the Shri Amarnath Yatra, Punjab’s Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla on Wednesday chaired a meeting of security agencies to take stock of the arrangements.

The meeting, which was held in Pathankot, focused on strategic preparations for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, encompassing diverse aspects such as police deployment, security measures, traffic management, and disaster management.

The review also focused on recent incidents involving sightings of armed suspects in Kot Bhattian village and an encounter with an armed suspect in Kathua district.

The meeting was attended by senior officers from the Punjab Police, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Himachal Pradesh Police, the Army, the Air Force, the Border Security Force and other Central agencies.

Shukla deliberated on securing the international border and ensuring the safety of the devotees going for the Shri Amarnath Yatra.

He said the Punjab Police has boosted the security with the deployment of 550 personnel, sniper detachments, bomb disposal and other commando units. A high alert has been sounded with an eight second line of defence checkpoints established by the police.

He said the route has been divided into five sectors for effective management and four companies of CAPF have been stationed along the route. Special security arrangements have been made at ‘langar’ sites.

–IANS

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