Perhaps more significant than what the Church initially threatened to do is the studied silence of the Muslim segment

Barely a month ago, the Congress in Kerala was looking at the April 10 election with trepidation. The uproar over the Kasturirangan Committee recommendations on the protection of the Western Ghats was at its peak in the high ranges in the State, where settler farmers had been cultivators for generations.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said that the State government would continue pushing for change in the working hours under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Responding to an adjournment motion in the Assembly on Thursday to discuss the murder of a 15-year old girl, Arya Vijayan, at her home at Venjaramood on Tuesday, Mr. Chandy said that the government wanted change in the working hours to ensure that girl children were not left alone at home when the parents go out for work.

The much-awaited National Food Security Bill will be introduced in the winter session of Parliament incorporating some major changes recommended by the National Advisory Council, chaired by Congres

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