A chance meeting between Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Union minister Kiren Rijiju at the Tulip Garden in Srinagar has sparked a political storm, with opposition parties accusing the National Conference of laying out a red carpet for the BJP leader in the aftermath of the Waqf Amendment Act. While NC sources termed the interaction as a purely coincidental encounter, opposition parties like the PDP and Peoples' Conference condemned the meeting, accusing the NC of surrendering to the BJP. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, passed by Parliament last week, aims to streamline the management of Waqf properties with provisions to safeguard heritage sites and promote social welfare.
To accommodate the huge number of devotees, a high-tech kitchen has been established at Baba Satyapal Maharaj's pandal, ensuring seamless food preparation and distribution.
For a year I did my best to dodge this damn virus but it's finally caught up with me. I tested positive for #COVID?19 this afternoon, Omar tweeted.
The delayed timing of J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's admission has more to do with deflecting the thrust of the Opposition attack on the prime minister and Union home minister during the monsoon session of Parliament, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The National Conference is a part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and will continue to be, party leader Omar Abdullah clarified on Thursday and said it is in talks with the Congress for an arrangement in three of the six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
They said the meeting was necessitated after "some differences" cropped up in seat-sharing arrangement during the talks between the local leadership of the parties.
'The Abdullah family is the problem and facilitator of the instability that we are seeing in Kashmir.'
'Sheikh Abdullah ruled the state with secular values. Post 1953, when he was sacked, corruption took over governance.'
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.
In separate statements issued in Srinagar, former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed urged the Indian government not to embark on "punitive measures" against Pakistan as it would cast a shadow on Jammu and Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday assured at the all-party meeting that the government is ready to discuss all issues.
Omar Abdullah told the media on Friday, April 12, 2024, that he is contesting from north Kashmir as the National Conference wanted to defeat the central government, which is eyeing the Baramulla constituency as Sajjad Lone is contesting from the seat.
Abdullah lambasted the Lieutenant Governor and the police for trying to stop him and his entourage from entering the martyrs' graveyard.
Opposition leaders also raised the issue of MPs not being allowed to visit Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of its special status, whereas parliamentarians from Europe have been taken to the state, with Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury describing the EU delegation as 'bhade ke tattu' (hirelings).
Responding to a question, Abdullah said elections can be held whenever the government wants.
Visuals of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah scaling the gate of the Naqshband Sahib graveyard and jostling with securitymen deployed there have gone viral.
Omar, presently kept in detention at Hari Nivas, is likely to be shifted as the J-K administration plans to use the place to host a ministerial delegation from the Centre.
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Attacking the media, National Conference President Farooq Abdullah said it plays "tricks" so that "one fellow should go down and second fellow should come up".
"Border skirmishes have been rising and people are dying... A way has to be found to deal with this. Except for talks... As you are talking to China to attempt that it withdraws (from Ladakh border), we should also talk to our (other) neighbour to find a way to get out of this situation," he said in Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour amid protests from treasury benches.
The ruling National Conference on Tuesday named patron Farooq Abdullah as the party's President, replacing his son Omar Abdullah, who became the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister on January 5 following assembly elections in the state.
'Dr Abdullah is fine and in good spirits,' says National Conference Lok Sabha MP Mohammad Akbar Lone.
Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Monday backed the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for according the Bharat Ratna to former prime minister and veteran leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has convened a meeting at his residence on Thursday for chalking out the future course of action on 'Gupkar Declaration' with regard to the special status of Jammu and Kashmir which was revoked by the Centre last year.
Released on Friday after his detention under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) was revoked, former chief minister Farooq Abdullah drove from his residence to nearby Hari Nivas where his son, also a former chief minister, has been held first under preventive custody since February 5 under the PSA. The two warmly embraced.
'I am not saying for a moment that the government should give independence to those seeking it. They could settle for something less. Something within the framework of the Constitution.'
Supporting Omar Abdullah's demand for withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act from some areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Thursday said the chief minister is "the boss" in the state and the Centre should take his views on the controversial Act.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described Dr Farooq Abdullah's defence of the beleaguered BCCI president N. Srinivasan 'as part of his cover up to escape punishment for alleged embezzlement in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association'.
Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Thursday took exception to Sports Minister Ajay Maken's remarks on Union Cabinet's "internal deliberations" on the National Sports Development Bill, accusing him of violating oath of secrecy.
Union Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Monday ruled out quitting the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre over the hanging of Afzal Guru, an issue on which Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had made some strong statements. "Why should we leave the government? We have got a job to do. You don't leave, I have no such idea," Abdullah said.
Union minister for new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah came out strongly against tapping of phones, over the leak of tapes involving corporate heads, lobbyists and media personalities on Tuesday.
The leaders said the list of seats each party will be contesting, as well as the names of the candidates, will be issued later.
Abdullah said if the gap between the communities is to be bridged, the hateful campaigns like The Kashmir Files film and incessant Hindu-Muslim debates on the media have to be stopped.
