A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
Former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig was among the 24 candidates in Baramulla constituency whose deposits were forfeited.
Mehbooba Mufti said she will not contest the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, pointing out that she would not be able to fulfil her party's agenda in the union territory set up even if she were to become the chief minister.
Two soldiers who were critically wounded in Thursday's terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg succumbed to their injuries, raising the death toll in the ambush to four.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), questioning the outcome of the recent Maharashtra assembly elections and alleging hypocrisy in the BJP's stance on corruption. He also hinted at internal changes within the MNS, emphasizing the need for discipline and a renewed focus on the party's goals.
The alleged torture of five civilians by Army personnel in Kishtwar has triggered angry reactions from various political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, notably from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who has demanded a transparent investigation and court martial for those found guilty.
The Congress and the National Conference on Monday announced they will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, in alliance, with both parties contesting three seats each.
Bukhari said party president Mehbooba Mufti was scheduled to address various workers' conventions as part of her ongoing public outreach programme over the next few days.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first elected government in the Union Territory since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated.
Omar Abdullah lost by 204,142 votes; Mehbooba Mufti by 281, 794 votes.
The Jammu Development Authority (JDA) demolished a dozen shops belonging to displaced Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu city, allegedly without issuing notices, sparking protests from various sections demanding action against the officials. The shops were located on JDA land and had been built by displaced Kashmiri Pandits near the Muthi camp three decades ago. The demolition drive sparked outrage from political parties, including the BJP, PDP and Apni Party, and several Kashmir Pandit organisations, who condemned the JDA's action and called for the construction of new shops to help the displaced community sustain their livelihood.
The new PDP chief will have to work hard to keep everyone in the state happy.
They said police parties fanned out to find them amid reports that they had been abducted and killed by terrorists.
Delhi is set to get its third woman chief minister, after Congress' Sheila Dikshit and Bharatiya Janata Party's Sushma Swaraj, as Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi has been chosen to succeed Arvind Kejriwal.
They said the terrorists opened fire on the vehicle at Botapathri near Nagin post.
Iltija said the PDP suffered defeat and could manage only three seats in the valley because there was an "assault" on the party.
Mehbooba Mufti, the former chief minister, was detained on August 5, the day the Centre announced abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.
People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti and several other regional party leaders on Monday claimed that they have been placed under house arrest on the fifth anniversary of the reading down of Article 370 of the Constitution that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Tral, the former hotbed of terrorism, rocks to the music of democracy.
The terrorists opened fire on the camp housing labourers of a private company working on construction of a tunnel Gund area in the district, officials said.
'We want to ensure that no government in J&K will be formed without our support.'
'The Congress backstabbed us and the BJP frontstabbed us.' 'This is the only difference between the two parties.'
Peoples Democratic Party president also demanded that "fringe elements" acting in the name of Hinduism should be checked, drawing comparison with elements of Islamic State who misuse Islam.
The Bharatiya Janata Party termed Mufti's temple visit a "political gimmick."
The National Conference-Congress alliance won the recent Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections and is set to form the government. NC vice president Omar Abdullah will be the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP accused National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah of leaving them "no option".
A total of 78 Muslims were in the fray in the Lok Sabha elections this year, a significant drop from the last polls when 115 Muslim candidates were fielded by various parties.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Nagrota MLA Devender Singh Rana, brother of Union minister Jitendra Singh, died on Thursday at a private hospital in Haryana's Faridabad. He was 59.
Addressing party workers, Thackeray claimed Mufti told him that the BJP's alliance with the PDP was on the condition that Article 370, which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, won't be abolished.
Lashing out at Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, Rashid on Wednesday alleged that they have "destroyed" Kashmir.
Karra, who became the J&K Congress chief last Friday replacing Vikar Rasool Wani, said a call is already there for all secular parties who are opposed to the "hegemonic attitude" of the BJP to unite.
Scenes from the Opposition leaders' dinner meeting, in Bengaluru on Monday, July 17, 2023.
Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday accused the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party of taking support from ex-militants for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and said the two parties want to take the Union territory back to its 'trouble-filled days'.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Wednesday slammed ally Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray's MP Sanjay Raut for his remarks on Haryana poll outcome, stressing that accusations against Congress won't be tolerated.
Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said she will be joining the Kashmir leg of the "Bharat Jodo Yatra" spearheaded by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The People's Democratic Party and the National Conference -- the two Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners in Jammu and Kashmir -- will be taking on each other on the three Lok Sabha seats in the valley.
Ahead of counting of votes, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday said his party was open to the idea of taking support of Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party to form government in the Union territory.
'Whether she is in power or not, she always makes it a point to visit us. This is her best quality as a leader.'
BJP members, including the Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, opposed the resolution, saying it was not part of the listed business.
More than 40 per cent of the 908 candidates contesting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are Independents, leading to claims that a large number of them have been propped up by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide votes.
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