Here are the major news developments in Kerala to watch for today.
Media One’s petition against broadcast ban in High Court
The Kerala High Court will hear a plea challenging the Centre’s controversial decision to cancel the broadcast license of Media One news channel. The suspension of the High Court on the broadcast ban ends on Tuesday. Madhyamik Broadcasting Corporation, which owns the Malayalam news channel, had earlier challenged the decision of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and sought an interim stay from the court.
Media One has claimed that the Center did not specify the reason for denying channel security clearance to use the airwaves. The Center had also criticized the opposition parties for invalidating the broadcasting license of the channel. The Congress and CPI(M) had alleged that the move was the Centre’s latest attempt to throttle independent media.
cabinet meeting
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will chair the cabinet meeting away from the UAE. The conclave will review the rules for the pandemic and possibly work out a schedule for the budget session.
The plea of the film exhibitors.
The Kerala High Court will hear the plea of film exhibitors seeking opening of cinema halls with 50 per cent seating capacity in the high spread of COVID-19. [C-category (Threshold-3)] The district pandemic pushed movies to online OTT platforms, hurting theater owners financially and depriving audiences of watching new releases on the big screen.
public commission ordinance
Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan may consider the government’s “justification” a controversial proposal to bring in an ordinance for a minor advisory role to the Kerala Lokayukta in matters related to corruption and allegations of misadministration against public officials.
Congress and BJP opposed the move. The opposition has sought to exploit the alleged flurry of discontent in the LDF, especially from the CPI, against the “haste” to issue an executive order to amend the Kerala Lokayukta Act, 1999 for the upcoming budget session. ,
UDF Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Higher Education Minister R. Bindu of an under-handed bid to protect him from possible prosecution in separate cases of corruption and nepotism pending before the Lokayukta. Powers of Lokpal. The issue is also shaping up to become the next battlefield between the LDF and the UDF ahead of the upcoming budget session of the Assembly.
Mammootty’s intervention for tribal youth
Actor Mammootty has intervened to provide legal aid to the kin of Madhu, a tribal youth who was killed in 2018 for allegedly consuming provisions without permission from a roadside shop in Attapady, Palakkad, to satisfy his hunger. was inserted. The family had complained of shoddy prosecution in the case. The murder suspects include locally influential political activists.
,