The Jammu and Kashmir legislative Assembly was disrupted after a BJP MLA alleged the government was neglecting some Kishtwar areas because "nationalist Hindus" reside there. The remarks were deemed communal by other members, leading to a heated debate.
The withdrawal of the candidature by DPAP leaders on the last day on August 30 is seen as a boost to the NC-Congress alliance.
Incidentally, 164 of the total 356 candidates in the fray from the 43 assembly seats of Jammu region got less votes than none of the above, which gives an option to voters to reject all candidates in a constituency.
At least three MLAs were marshalled out on the directions of Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather but the brawl ensued due to resistance put up by the opposition members.
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on Thursday rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for either rolling back the special status resolution passed by the House or stepping down, and said if the party does not have faith in him it should bring a no-confidence motion.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is poised to form the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, having secured a victory in the assembly elections by securing 49 out of 90 seats on which polls were held for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 five years ago.
Their counsel Satish Maneshinde told the HC that the drugs case, in which Rhea and Showik are accused and currently in jail, should have been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing Rajput's death, by the NCB.
An assistant commissioner-level officer in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district has been suspended for making "objectionable remarks" against a particular religion, officials said on Wednesday.
The NCB further said both Rhea Chakraborty and her brother had "abetted and financed" drug transactions.
About 150 terrorist entities and individuals, either based or with links to Pakistan have been blacklisted by the United Nations, with the latest addition being of Abdul Rehman Makki, the Lashkar-e-Taiba deputy chief designated by the Security Council's Al Qaeda sanctions committee.
Ganderbal SSP Hansraj Parihar and DSP Bahadur Ram have been arrested for their involvement in the fake encounters.
This is the first time that police officials of the rank of SSP or DSP have been arrested in connection with custodial killings or fake encounters since the militancy erupted in the state in the 1990s.
Commenting on the Narcotics Control Bureau investigation of a drug case, related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case, Raut said, "The probe of the case started about murder and suicide. Now, narcotics came into the case. Nobody knows where will it go. It is under NCB's jurisdiction to summon anyone to join the probe."
The eight-phase DDC polls, which began on November 28, is also the first election after Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 was revoked last year and it was reorganised into a Union Territory.