‘Mundakkal Sekharan’ Napoleon as Central Minister

Thiruvananthapuram, May 28 (IANS) The Kerala film industry is excited to have one of its own in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s cabinet. D. Napoleon, who became a household name by playing the villanous Mundakkal Sekharan in two popular Malayalam films, has been chosen to be a minister of state.
“We all like Napolean because of his friendly nature and down to earth attitude. I wish him all the best in his new role,” Malayalam superstar Mammootty, who acted with the actor-turned-politician in the Tamil film “Ethurum Puthiram”, told IANS.
As Mundakkal Sekharan in the smash hit “Devasuram” in 1993 and its sequel “Ravanprabhu” in 2001, the Tamil actor won several fans in Kerala.
Speaking to IANS on phone from New Delhi just before being sworn in Thursday, Napoleon said he was grateful to the Malayalee audience for their affection.
“I remember the shooting of both these films with a lot of happiness. It was a great experience for me to work in the Kerala film industry especially because of Mammootty sir and Mohanlal sir. I have worked in 10 Malayalam films. Now I am in a new role but Kerala can consider me the seventh minister from the state,” he said.
Napoleon, 45, won as a DMK candidate from Tamil Nadu’s Perambalur parliamentary constituency.
Veteran Malayalam character artiste Innocent, who acted alongside Napoleon in both “Devasuram” and “Ravanprabhu”, said the Tamil politician was very down to earth.
“He is a very down to earth person. I hope that as a minister he will be able to look into the problems facing the Malayalam film industry,” said Innocent, who is also the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes.
Suresh Kumar, office bearer of the Malayalam Producer’s Association, said filmmakers were looking forward to getting help from Napoleon for the bifurcation of the Cine Welfare Board that is right now clubbed with other small scale industries.
“Every time a film is censored, a sum of Rs.10,000 is deposited with the board and this is used for the welfare of those in these industries. The benefit does not come back to the industry in full. If the bifurcation takes place, all welfare activities would increase,” said Kumar, who is also a member of the central advisory committee of the Cine Welfare Board.
source IANS

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Prakash Karat Saves the day for Kerala CM - VS Achuthanandan..

It's Karat to the rescue ~ again! The CPI-M general secretary has saved the day for Kerala chief minister Mr VS Achuthanandan, by making corrections in a report drawn up to assess the LDF’s poll failure in Kerala. 
According to a source loyal to the CM: “Mr Vijayan mentioned the SNC Lavalin case as a contributing factor in his report, but said it was the chief minister’s attitude to the advocate general’s legal advice (acquitting Mr Vijayan of any wrong doing) that blemished the party’s unified image and helped the Congress win by a huge margin.” Also, Mr Vijayan did not mention the Left’s folly in deciding to include Mr Abdul Nasser Madani’s People’s Democratic Party in its election campaign, and instead found fault with Mr Achuthanandan, and his reluctance in accepting what the majority (Mr Vijayan’s official faction) wanted.
Mr Karat who attended the state secretariat meeting asked that corrections be made as the Politburo has found that the CBI’s case against Mr Vijayan and the party’s associations with the PDP were major contributing factors to the loss of votes. 
The CM’s loyalists had argued that the report was a personal attack and went against the party’s guidelines while assessing the poll performance. The last time Mr Karat came to the rescue of the chief minister was during the 2006 Assembly elections, when Mr Vijayan, who was hopeful of becoming chief minister, left Mr Achuthanandan out of the publicity material. Mr Karat had intervened and allowed the veteran leader to become the CM, and for now, there has been no talk of Mr Achuthanandan giving up his post. As for the SNC Lavalin case, the Governor has asked the CBI to furnish more evidences within the week.

source-Statesman 

How many days these fight between VS and Pinarayi will go on ?????

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Shilpa Shetty licked by a Giraffe

The Indian Premier League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals co-owner Shilpa Shetty says apart from cricket she was completely smitten by the wildlife experience in South Africa.

"I did a safari in Singita, a thrilling hot air balloon trip, went to the lion park and actually played with the cubs, something unusual. It was amazing to see a wild animal in such a vulnerable playful state," said Shilpa who was in South Africa for IPL matches.

"I fed ostriches and got pecked by one! And also fed a giraffe, they have the longest purple tongues, wrapped it around my hand, leaving its saliva all over it, eeow! But what fun," the actress posted on her blog www.shilpashettylive.com.   source - hindustantimes

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Speaking Malayalam, Apollo Delhi Nurses asked to resign

Delhi Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals on Monday asked two nurses to submit their resignations for speaking in their “native tongue” inside the hospital premises.

The nurses, Jincy Joseph and Lijy Menon (names changed to protect identity) were posted in ICU of the Cardio Thoracic Vascular Surgery (CTVS) department. The two said they will take their case to the National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday, challenging the hospital’s decision.

Menon said they arrived for the afternoon shift at 1.45 pm. “We greeted each other in the lift lobby in Malayalam and did not realise that the nursing superintendent was standing behind us,” Joseph said.”

Menon added, “We spent the entire day apologising but we were not allowed to enter the ward after that.”

The hospital’s nursing superintendent, Usha Banerjee, said employees were encouraged to speak only in English within the premises. “We cater to an international clientele,” Banerjee said. “In any case, speaking in native languages might jeopardise patient safety; we avoid talking in any language other than English while inside the hospital premises.”

Asked whether the employees were dismissed, she said the nurses had not been dismissed yet. But both Menon and Joseph were told to tender their resignations to the evening superintendent.

“We have put in our papers,” Joseph said. “More than the insult, we are outraged at the fact that we do not have the right to speak in our language. Since we were not in front of patients, or even inside the ward, this was not violation of rules per se.”

source - indianexpress

What do you think about this ACT ? Please Respond

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Air India manager arrested in Ordnance factories scam

The CBI today arrested the regional manager of Air India in connection with the alleged Ordnance Factories, Kolkata, scam involving a former Director General.

Ramesh Nambiar, Regional Manager (Sports) Air India, New Delhi, was arrested and Rs 1.29 lakh recovered from his possession, said the CBI here.

Nambiar acted as a conduit on behalf of ex-DG Ordnance Factories to arrange graft money from suppliersm, besides helping the then DG to launder ill-gotten money through Hawala Channel. He will be produced before a court in Delhi for transit remand tomorrow.

CBI alleged that Nambiar acted as a conduit on behalf of Ghosh, arrested on May 19 at Kolkata, to arrange bribe money from defence equipment suppliers, the spokesperson said.

The CBI also alleged that Nambiar, who was the then additional general manager, had helped Ghosh in laundering the "ill-gotten" money through hawala channel.

The CBI probe had indicated at the role of Nambiar, who was in touch with foreign suppliers of military equipment to India, and the agency alleged that he had helped Ghosh in opening a bank account in a foreign bank -- RBS Coutts Bank Pvt Ltd in Singapore. The account has a balance of USD 99,997 (Rs 50 lakh approximately).

Nambair's house in the national capital was searched on May 19 and CBI seized 22.92 lakh in cash, the CBI said.

Nambiar is the fifth person arrested in this case. Earlier on May 19, Ghosh along with his conduits Aashish Bose and Kanai Lal Dass and representative of Israel Military Equipments Pradeep Rana were arrested.

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Indian Premier League 2009 Winners Deccan Chargers

May 24: Deccan Chargers won the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs in the final at the New Wanderers here Sunday.

Brief scores: Deccan Chargers 143/6 in 20 overs (Herschelle Gibbs 53 not out, Andrew Symonds 33; Anil Kumble 4-16, Vinay Kumar 2-30). Royal Challengers Bangalore 137/9 in 20 overs (Roelof van der Merwe 32, Ross Taylor 27; Pragyan Ojha 3-28, Andrew Symonds 2-18). 

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Media should act in a responsible manner - CM V S Achuthanandan.

Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan Saturday advised the visual media to be more responsible and cautious while airing news and talk shows. 
The 24 hour television channels should exercise more caution in news gathering and dissemination. 
Visual media has become part of the society. It needs to act in a more responsible manner as it can create 'ripples' in society, he said after distributing 'Television chamber awards 2008' here. 
Since there was lot of competition between various television channels, there was a tendency to air news reports without cross checking facts, he said. 
Even trivial matters are given more importance and certain issues are blown out of proportion, he said. 
Veteran Malayalam actor, Thilakan, actor captain Raju and television actress, Valsala menon won the special jury awards, while John Brittas, Nikesh Kumar, Johny Lukose, Shrikantan Nair, P T Kunhmohammed, from various television channels were among the other award winners... source manorama

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Calendar The malayalam Movie Released 40 Centres

Actor Mahesh's first movie as director ‘Calendar’ graced the theatres today. The family movie scripted by Babu Janardhanan was released in more than 40 centres, all across the state.
  
The movie featuring Prithviraj in the lead, is the second release of the actor, this year. The young star who is in a big need for a hit will be expecting much from this movie which also features Navya Nair and Mukesh in important roles. The movie will also feature the star of the eighties, Zarina Wahab making a comeback to Malayalam.

‘Calendar’ was earlier planned for a release, last week. But due to some technical problems related to taking prints, the movie's release was delayed.

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Mohanlal celebrated his 49th birthday

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal Thursday celebrated his 49th birthday without any fanfare at a hotel in between the shooting of his latest film. Friends close to the actor said Mohanlal was not keen on any celebrations as he had lost his father-in-law recently. 
Character artiste and a close friend of the superstar, Jagdeesh said: 'I also act in the film and more importantly being a close friend of Lal, I am happy that I was with him. I wish that he goes on to achieve greater glory and also wish that I be with him when he celebrates his next birthday too.' 
The only celebration was a cake cutting ceremony, in which the entire unit of the film 'Alexander The Great' took part. Mohanlal is a veteran actor and has more than 300 films to his credit. 

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Pinarayi's explanation on CPM 's Shameless Defeat In Kerala - Election 2009

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Godman Santhosh Madhvan sentenced to 16 years for raping minors

The Ernakulam Sessions court sentenced fake `Godman' Swami Amritha Chaithanya alias Santosh Madhavan, for 16 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping two minor girls, here on Wednesday. He has to undergo imprisonment for eight years each in two separate case and the sentences will run separately. Other than that he has to pay a fine of Rs 2,20,000, in which Rs 2 lakh must be given for the girl who stood firmly against him till the last minute. Though his lawyer made a demand to no to send him to Kannur central jail owing to some political reasons, the court said that such demands cannot be considered this time, His driver, Thomas, was acquitted of charges in the case. On Tuesday Fifth Additional Sessions Court Judge Haripal found Madhavan guilty of raping the girls, who were from poor families, under Section 375 of IPC.

Madhavan alias Amritha Chaitanya's troubles began after an NRI businesswoman, Serafin Edwin, filed a private complaint, alleging that he cheated her of Rs 45 lakh. Earlier, Interpol had also issued a lookout notice against him. A cheating case was then charged against him. To add to Madhavan's woes, a young girl from Ernakulam alleged that she had been raped by him. Later, three minor girls, who were inmates of an orphanage he was running, also came out with similar complaints. source-mathrubhumi

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Court convicts Santhosh Madhavan

The Ernakulam Sessions court has convicted godman  Santosh Madhavan (Dont Call him -  Swami Amritha Chaithanya alias)  in a case relating to sexual harassment of minor girls. IVANU PANI KITTUM  The court also acquitted driver Thomas of the charges. 
Exept one girl, the other victims have modified their statement. The court accepted the CD videographed by Santhosh himself, as crucial evidence. The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on Wednesday.
He faced trial, in as many as six cases relating to sexual harassment and rape of minor girls. The trial is on before Ernakulam Additional Sessions Judge A. Haripal. Santhosh Madhavan was arrested on May 13, 2008 on a complaint lodged by a Dubai-based Keralite woman. 
The court cross-examined almost fifty witnesses in the case. Santhosh Madhavan alias Swami Amritha Chaitanya was arrested on May 13, 2008 on a complaint lodged by a Dubai-based Keralite woman. Though he was granted bail in the cheating case filed by the NRI woman, he has not been able to come out of prison as his pleas for bail in the other cases have been rejected by various courts. source mathrubhumi

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Prabhakaran's - LTTE - body identified: Lankan Army

Sri Lankan state television broadcast video footage Tuesday of what it said was the body of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, hours after the rebels claimed he was still alive. 
The footage showed the upper part of a corpse dressed in camouflage uniform and with a head wound. The face was intact, with the eyes wide open, and bore a clear resemblance to the rebel leader. 
Part of the forehead was covered by a blue cloth, and the head was resting on a bloodstained newspaper. The images also showed Prabhakaran's dog tag with the marking '0.01' and his Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) identity card. 
The broadcast came after the country's army chief, General Sarath Fonseka, announced he was 'very pleased to confirm that we have killed Prabhakaran, the ruthless terrorist leader.' 
Fonseka said the body had been positively identified earlier Tuesday as of Prabhakaran, who was reported by the army to have been killed on Monday while trying to flee. 

Hours earlier, a Tamil Tiger spokesman claimed the rebel leader was 'alive and safe,' and accused government troops of murdering his aides who tried to surrender. In a statement carried by the pre-separatist website Tamilnet, the Tiger official accused the Sri Lankan government of fabricating news of his death in order 'to gloat' over its rout of the rebel army. 

'Our beloved leader is alive and safe. He will continue to lead the quest for dignity and freedom for the Tamil people,' the Tigers' chief of international relations, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, said in a statement. The Sri Lankan military said Monday that Prabhakaran, founder and leader of the LTTE, had been shot dead with two of his top commanders as they attempted to flee advancing troops in an ambulance. 
'We categorically reject this,' Pathmanathan said, without making any claim to Prabhakaran's current whereabouts. 'The Tamil freedom struggle is a just cause and will not be quashed by the events of the last 24 hours. Truth and justice will always prevail,' he added. 
Pathmanathan, believed to be living in hiding in Southeast Asia, went on to accuse the Sri Lankan government and military of 'crimes against humanity,' saying senior LTTE leaders had been shot dead after being invited to negotiate their surrender. He said B. Nadesan, the LTTE's political wing leader, and S. Pulideevan, the head of the rebels' defunct Peace Secretariat, were shot while holding a white flag.
'We were informed by some member states of the international community that arrangements had been made with the Sri Lankan military for discussions on an orderly end to the war,' Pathmanathan said. In the hours before his death was announced by the government, Pulideevan was said to have been making frantic calls on a satellite telephone, asking the Red Cross, United Nations and former peace broker Norway to assist with a surrender. 
'We were instructed to make contact with the 58th Division of the Sri Lankan forces in the war zone, unarmed and carrying white flags. Head of our Political Wing, Mr. B. Nadesan and Mr. Puleedevan then proceeded to do so,' Pathmanathan said in the statement. 'They were unarmed and carrying white flags and were called on by the officers of the 58th Division to come forward for discussions. When they complied they were both shot and killed,' the statement said. AFP

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Passenger - the Malayalam Movie Review

Passenger - Malayalam Film - This film gives you hope that there are new filmmakers, who want to try something out of the ordinary. 

Dileep, Mamta and Sreenivasan have emerged with flying colors, with their new movie ‘Passenger’ emerging as a surprise hit. The thriller movie that too from a debutante, Renjith Shankar, an IT professional turned director is already reviewed as one of the best of the year, in terms of content and presentation.

The gist of the film is simple: Any commoner with courage can take on the high and mighty and fight injustice. When that commoner is portrayed by redoubtable Sreenivasan, you are sure to be entertained.

The backdrop of the film is a train journey and a group of people using the train daily to earn their livelihood. They become friends with the fellow travellers and pass their travelling time playing cards and gossiping. 

Sathyanathan (Sreenivasan) is member of one such group. His character is established as an activist with zeal; running a signature campaign for cleaner toilets in the trains and demanding more trains on busy routes. But this is looked down upon by his family and friends.

Running parallel to this is the story of a yuppie couple Adv. Nandan Menon (Dileep) and his TV journalist wife Anuradha (Mamta Mohandas). They are also social activists in a way. They have locked horns with no less than the Home Minister, Thomas Chako (Jagathy Sreekumar) over an environmentally disastrous case of sand mining, which would displace a whole community. The Home Minister is also entangled in a sexual harassment case.

By interval, all the three parallel stories suck us into its vortex. 

There are numerous things going for this film apart from the basic story and the structure. This may be the first Malayalam film where new age technology tools like 3G cell phones, laptops and webcams are shown in a positive light (maybe because the creator Ranjith Sankar is a former IT professional). And like his Guru Lal Jose, the narrative is not overly dialogue-driven.

Sreenivasan is the pivot around which the film revolves. But thankfully, there is no overdose of self deprecatory humour.
Dileep happily plays a role that may be termed as second fiddle. Mamta Mohandas' oomph quotient is used in minimum, which is a rarity. Veterans like Jagathy and Nedumudi Venu are judiciously used.

On the whole, Passenger is worth your time and money.

Renjith reveals that he was heavily inspired from one of his friends character, in the creation of the central character of Sathyanath, a sharp tongued man who sleeps for a regular period in his every train journeys. 'I was thinking on the possibilities of this concept for the last five years and was dying to see the movie on screen''. Says Renjith.

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Singer Sayanora, got married to Winston Antonie de Cruz

Noted South Indian playback singer Sayanora, got married to Winston Antonie de Cruz, yesterday.

Their marriage which was solemnized in Anglo Indian style was at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kannur, Kerala. Winston, a real estate businessman, is also running a fitness centre.
Sayanora who was born and bought up in a musical family debuted into films with her first Malayalam film song in ‘Manjupoloru Penkutty’ directed by Kamal. Later she joined A.R. Rahman's music troupe where she got quick breaks that elevated her to a singer of national acclaim.

She has got many big hits to her credit including “Athiradi” in Shivaji and “Oh January” (Big B), “Raja Raja Rajakumari” (Of The People) and “Vakamarathin Kompilirunnoru” in (July 4). source-indiaglitz

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Malayalam Actress Karthika Wedding Photos,Pictures,Stills

Malayalam Actress Karthika married with Merin Mathew who is working in USA as a Medical Biller. Karthika revealed that they are in love for the past two years and got the consent of their parents now. Merin is son of Mathew Vaidyan of Kollam Mainagapalli, Kadappa Merish Bhavan.
Karthika did many roles in Malayalam and Tamil films. Karthiga made her debut in Kollywood with Sarath Kumar starrer ‘Nam Nadu’. She became popular with her role in last years Tamil movie Dindugal Sarathy. Karthiga tells that she will settle down in US with Merin after marriage.

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Latest Kerala News

  B'desh PM congratulates Sonia on Cong's resounding victory
  Obama names Republican governor as envoy to China
  WHO says H1N1 flu cases, death toll rises
  Myanmar bars Suu Kyi lawyer, US renews sanctions
  US strikes killed 140 villagers - Afghan probe
  B'desh intelligence ex-chiefs arrested
  Sri Lanka seizes coast, tightens noose on Tigers
  Astronauts tackle tricky repairs in third spacewalk
  Indians in Bangkok follow poll results at embassy
  Pakistani army closes in on Swat town; bomb kills 11
  US can pull out world from current recession: Ashwani Kumar
  Suspected car bomb blast in Pakistan, seven killed
source deepika news

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Unconfirmed report: LTTE chief's body found

Colombo, May 17: A body believed to be that of Tamil Tiger founder leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran has been found but the identity of the corpse has not been confirmed, Sri Lankan military sources said on Sunday.
"They are taking the body for checks to confirm it is the real Prabhakaran," one military official told Reuters on conditions of anonymity. Four other military sources confirmed the recovery and said identity checks were under way. 
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara denied the report.  Source - manorama news

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Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan refuses to resign over poll debacle

Just days ahead of Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan completing three years in office, his party - the Communist Party Of India-Marxist (CPI-M) - suffered one of the worst electoral drubbing in the state. But a defiant Achuthanandan has refused to resign.
The CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) is leading in just four out of the state's 20 seats while the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is ahead in the others. In 2004, the LDF had won 19 out of the 20 seats.
When asked whom he thought was responsible for the defeat, pat came the answer: 'The party politburo is meeting on 18th. The central committee, the state secretariat and the state committee will all meet to discuss about this defeat.'
'I will let you all know after the various party meetings are over,' Achuthanandan told reporters at his residence here Saturday.
'We expected a better performance and now we will have to examine why this happened. But this verdict has got nothing to do with the governance of the Left government. We will learn from the failures and will work hard to strengthen the LDF,' said Achuthanandan.
When the reporters continued to ask him more questions, his aide came and was heard telling him to end the press conference.
The LDF government completes three years in office Tuesday. IANS

source-mathrubhumi news

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Congress - UDF - Got Stunning Victory In Keralam

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had recorded a stunning victory, having won 16 of the 20 Kerala seats for which results had been announced. 
The ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) led Left Democratic Front (LDF) had 19 of the 20 seats in the outgoing Lok Sabha. The lone UDF seat was won by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate E. Ahamed from Ponnani. 
The Congress has routed the CPI-M at its strongholds in Kannur and Vadakara. The seats that have already been won by the UDF are Kollam, Idukki, Malappuram, Kannur, Vadakara, Wayanad, Trissur and Chalakudy. 
The LDF has won Palakkad, Kasargode, Attingal and is leading in Alathur. 
In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, the UDF was routed and managed to win just one seat when Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate E. Ahamed won the Ponnani seat. Ahamed regained the seat Saturday when he won for the sixth consecutive time. 
In Vadakara:Mullappalli Ramachandran won and in Thrissur, PC Chako also won.
source-mathrubhumi news

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Total 4 U' , Dr Ramani, surrendered

The eleventh accused in the `Total 4 U' money swindling case, Dr Ramani, surrendered before the Thiruvananthapuram Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court here on Friday. It is learnt that she might be trying to get bail by surrendering. The Supreme Court had earlier rejected her bail plea and she was absconding.

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Mangalam' daily office attacked

The office of Malayalam daily `Mangalam' was attacked and its bureau chief and photographer beaten up allegedly by some CPI(M) activists here today. T K Joshi, bureau chief of the daily who was assaulted along with the photographer Krishnan Kanhirangad, said that a group of about 15 CPI-M workers barged into the office and asked them to close it down in response to a day-long hartal called by their party to protest the murder of a co-worker. He said they beat him and Krishnan severely besides smashing glass panes and ransacking office furniture and equipment. Both Joshi and Krishan were initially rushed to the district hospital but the photographer's condition was a bit serious and he was taken to the ICU of a private hospital.
Senior police officials rushed to the daily's office to record statements.
The CPI-M while calling for the hartal yesterday had kept vehicles and other essential services including the press out of the hartal purview.
The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) strongly condemned the attack on the daily and asked the state government to take stringent action against those responsible for it.
'The attack on the Mangalam daily in Kannur is an affront on democratic values and traditions, KUWJ President P P Sasindran said. PTI

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PDP chairman Abdul Nazer Madani was questioned at Kerala

PDP chairman Abdul Nazer Madani was questioned by the officials of the Kerala anti-terrorist squad led by DIG Vinod Kumar Wednesday.
Madani, who spend around nine years in jail as an undertrial prisoner in jail in the Coimbatore blasts case was grilled at his residence at Kaloor, Kochi. Officials who claimed they met Madani to ascertain the facts in certain statements made before them by suspects, were however were silent on the details of the interrogation.

Sources said Madani was questioned based on statements made by Sarfaroz Navas and Sainuddin who were arrested in the Bangaore serial bomb blasts case.
Sarfroz according to an earlier report had deposed before investigating officials that he had met Madani at his Kollam residence along with five others. Reports also said Sainuddin had visited Madani's Kochi home several times.

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UPA Leads Ahead as per Exit Poll - India Election 2009

Projection by a media company

One of the famous media company has projected their outcome of Indian election 2009. This is based on the thorough study done by their top brains, hence nothing is subjected official. This is solely their estimates and does not bind anyone to take it officially.

STATES / UTs	CONG	ALLIES	BJP	ALLIES	LEFT	OTHERS	TOTAL
STATES
Andhra Pradesh	21	0	0	0	2	19	42
Arunachal  Pradesh	0	0	2	0	0	0	2
Assam	6	0	4	2	0	2	14
Bihar	4	12	10	14	0	0	40
Goa	1	0	1	0	0	0	2
Gujarat	6	0	20	0	0	0	26
Haryana	4	0	2	4	0	0	10
Himachal Pradesh	1	0	3	0	0	0	4
Jammu  & Kashmir	2	3	1	0	0	0	6
Karnataka	8	0	18	0	0	2	28
Kerala	10	2	0	0	8	0	20
Madhya Pradesh	9	0	19	0	0	1	29
Maharashtra	10	14	10	14	0	0	48
Manipur	1	0	0	0	0	1	2
Meghalaya	1	1	0	0	0	0	2
Mizoram	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Nagaland	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Orissa	4	0	3	14	0	0	21
Punjab	6	0	2	4	0	1	13
Rajasthan	13	0	12	0	0	0	25
Sikkim	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Tamil Nadu	5	11	0	0	2	21	39
Tripura	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
Uttar Pradesh	10	0	8	3	0	59	80
West Bengal	8	8	0	0	26	0	42
Andaman &  Nicobar Islands	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Chandigarh	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Chhattisgarh	3	0	8	0	0	0	11
Dadra & Nagar Haveli	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Daman & Diu	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Jharkhand	3	2	9	0	0	0	14
Lakshadweep	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Delhi	5	0	2	0	0	0	7
Pondicherry	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Uttarakhand	1	0	4	0	0	0	5
Total	146	55	138	57	40	107	543
UPA 201		NDA 195		3rd Front 82		Other 65

Source:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/LS-polls-UPA-ahead-but-only-just/articleshow/4231179.cms

We'll have to wait till Saturday to find out what is sealed in lakhs of EVMs, but according to The Times of India's final estimates, 

PM Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi wave to their supporters during an election campaign rally. (REUTERS Photo) More Pictures

the Congress and UPA appear to have an edge in the race for the New Delhi gaddi. 

Our final estimates are that the Congress will get 154 seats and finish ahead of the BJP which is projected to bag 142 seats. With Congress's allies winning another 44 seats, the UPA is expected to get 198 seats and may get the chance to have first go at forming the next government, which is always an advantage in a hung parliament. 

The BJP's allies are likely to win 41 seats, taking the NDA's tally to 183, 15 short of the UPA's. The Left, which had won 61 seats in 2004, is projected to finish with 38 this time, a tally that would leave it considerably depleted, but with enough to remain a significant enough player in a highly fragmented post-poll scenario. 

The game after May 16 would seem to revolve around the 124 others, including the BSP (27) and SP (23). Some of them, like the AIADMK, TDP, PMK, MDMK, JD(S) and TRS, had come together with the Left to form the Third Front, but the cracks within that alliance are already evident and it may well be each party for itself once the numbers are known. 

The Nitish Kumar-led JD(U)'s anticipated good showing in Bihar could place the Bihar chief minister in the position of having some options, though he would not like to part company with the BJP and jeopardize his state government unless the benefits of doing so are commensurate and there is a reasonable chance of his winning the next assembly elections in Bihar in the company of the Congress. 

The TOI estimates are based on the collective feedback of our bureaus across the country as well as the national bureau. They are by no means the last word on these elections, but are arguably the most comprehensive journalistic exercise of their kind. 

Having said that, it must be added that predicting the outcome in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu is a difficult call. We have sought to go down to constituencies to make our estimates, but given three- or four-cornered contests in UP and shifting sentiments in TN, the estimates could go wrong. 

What the estimates do indicate is that while states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand are likely to deliver a serious setback to the Congress and the UPA, leaving their tally severely depleted compared to 2004, others like Kerala, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab and Orissa could help repair most of this damage, and in fact help the Congress to gain a few seats. 

For the NDA, Bihar and Jharkhand appear to be acting as a cushion against the shocks in Orissa, Punjab and Rajasthan. In Uttar Pradesh, both the Congress and NDA, it would appear, are poised to make modest gains, as is the BSP, all at the expense of the SP. 

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