
Kerala a haven for mafias: Surendran
The Hindu
BJP State president K. Surendran has alleged that gold smugglers and criminal gangs are operating in the State with the support of the State government.Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, Mr
BJP State president K. Surendran has alleged that gold smugglers and criminal gangs are operating in the State with the support of the State government. Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, Mr. Surendran said that the latest incident involving the Ramanattukara accident revealed that the mafia had made Kerala a safe haven for their nefarious activities. It was unbelievable that the Home Department was unaware of two gangs fighting out in the streets near the Calicut International Airport, he said. He wondered how criminal gangs from Kannur, Cherpulassery, and Koduvally reached Kozhikode city and Calicut airport during the COVID-19 lockdown. All these gangs had links with political parties in the State, Mr. Surendran alleged.
In , the grape capital of India and host of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela every 12 years, environmental concerns over a plan to cut 1,800 trees for the proposed Sadhugram project in the historic Tapovan area have sharpened political fault lines ahead of local body elections. The issue has pitted both Sena factions against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. While Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, and Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), remain political rivals, their parties have found rare common ground in Tapovan, where authorities propose clearing trees across 34 acres to build Sadhugram and a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) hub, as part of a ₹300-crore infrastructure push linked to the pilgrimage.












