'It was inspired by the Hamas attack and was like their attack -- well planned and well executed.'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in Jammu Friday once again categorically rejected the formula of Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf of self-governance and demilitarisation of Jammu and Kashmir.
'It is sad and unfortunate. But we have to accept it'
Union health minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday filed his nomination papers for the Udhampur-Doda parliamentary constituency.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the decision to transform Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory is 'temporary' and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government will restore the statehood to the region.
The Chief Minister said the people of the state attached high expectations to a ceasefire announcement on the eve of the fasting month as was done in 2002 during Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's tenure.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti drew comparisons between the treatment of Hindus in Bangladesh and minorities in India, sparking criticism from the BJP. Mufti expressed concerns about the alleged oppression of Hindus in Bangladesh and criticized recent surveys of mosques in India. She called for a united front against forces dividing people on religious lines and warned of a potential repeat of 1947-like riots.
A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said President A P J Abdul Kalam on Tuesday accepted Azad's resignation.
He had tried to visit the state after the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status but was sent back from the airport by authorities.
With 19 border polling stations along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch, a contingency plan has been worked out to deal with cross-border shelling though chances are negligible given the ongoing ceasefire between India and Pakistan that came into effect in February 2021, officials said.
In a public show of dissent, the 'G-23' leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal, who have been pressing for a leadership change and organisational overhaul in the Congress, gathered on one stage in Jammu on Saturday, saying the party is weakening and they have come together to strengthen it.
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.
Striking an emotional chord with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Thursday said he considers himself their soldier in New Delhi, and added his doors are always open for party workers -- 'the lions of the Congress'.
Azad also thanked the state governments, especially of Punjab and Haryana, non government organisations and armed forces for providing timely help in relief operations.
The change in Anantnag's demographic after delimitation has added layers of political complexities to the constituency with Pahari-Gujjar, Jammu versus Kashmir dimensions.
In a major setback to ruling National Conference-Congress coalition in Jammu and Kashmir, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday shared the six Lok Sabha seats in the state as two Union ministers, including Farooq Abdullah, bit the dust.
Gulam Abbas Azad was on his way to Doda city from Soti village in Doda district at the time of the attack.
From the 'group of 23' leaders, who had written letter to Gandhi seeking Congress' overhaul, Azad and Sharma continue to be regular members of the CWC,
"People have realized that militancy has given them miseries, devastation and destruction," he said, adding that that state was poised towards lasting peace.
The Congress has proposed AAP should contest five seats while the Samajwadi Party and Left parties could contest one seat each.
The vehicle, a Tavera, was on its way to Jammu from Srinagar and it fell into a 300-foot gorge at the Battery Cheshma area of the district around 1.15 am, they said.
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which had always misguided the people, had swung the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In a jolt to the Congress ahead of Himachal Pradesh polls, senior leader Anand Sharma on Sunday resigned from the chairmanship of the party's steering committee for the state, saying he was left with no choice after the 'continuing exclusion and insults'.
The chief minister said he recently had meetings with the prime minister, union home minister and foreign minister and discussed matters pertaining to the dialogue and peace.
Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is contesting first election of his political career, was up for a surprise on Thursday as he was asked by a polling officer in Jammu to prove his identity to cast vote after the senior Congress leader failed to furnish his voter card.
The Union government has ordered the complete withdrawal of the counter-terrorist commando force NSG from VIP security duties and handing over its nine "high-risk" VIPs to the CRPF by next month, official sources said Wednesday.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina, seeking re-election from Nowshera assembly constituency of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, is facing a major challenge from his former party colleague Surinder Choudhary.
However, Azad said he personally did not favour capital punishment.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's war against corruption has triggered up a regional debate even though the menace is still far from being eradicated from public life.
He laid stress on workers' connection with the ground and cited his own example when he was party in-charge for various assembly elections in the past.
There was more to him than he let on, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was on Monday named as the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, while Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad was declared the Leader of the Opposition.
This is chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's first stern action against a ministerial colleague, since he declared a war against corruption in public life in the state.
Azad has been making clear that the proposals needed to be discussed thoroughly and there should be synchronisation between public posturing and the stand taken at the negotiating table.
