The Congress on Wednesday said senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was consulted several times before finalising the names in the revamped Jammu and Kashmir unit of the party, rejecting reports that the former Union minister was not on board.
Four more Congress leaders, including former deputy speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly Gulam Hyder Malik, and a dozen prominent workers of the Apni Party resigned from their respective parties on Monday in support of veteran politician Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Azad, 73, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, ended his five-decade association with the Congress on Friday, terming the party "comprehensively destroyed" and lashing out at Rahul Gandhi for "demolishing" its entire consultative mechanism.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi Tuesday appointed former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad as the party's campaign committee chief in the union territory, but he declined the offer.
Ghulam Nabi Wani, a municipal councilor from the National Conference, was shot dead by militants early on Wednesday morning at Khanyar in Srinagar. The police said that Wani, who represented the NC in the Srinagar municipal corporation, was shot while he was leaving a local mosque after the morning prayers. The unidentified militants came up to him and fired a volley of bullets from their automatic weapons. Over two dozen municipal councilors have been killed recently.
Three persons, including two women, were killed in two separate strikes by militants in south Kashmir on Sunday night. A senior police officer said four militants barged into the house of Mohammad Hussain Gorsi in the Nanmarg forest area of Damhal Hanjipora in south Kashmir's Kulgam district and fired indiscriminately, killing his 40-year old wife and 19-year daughter on the spot. Gorsi managed to escape unhurt.
This is the third chargesheet in the infamous fake encounters racket, which came to light earlier this year.
Former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig was among the 24 candidates in Baramulla constituency whose deposits were forfeited.
The Opposition party also attacked Azad, saying "Mr. GNA himself gives new evidence of his DNA mutation by saying 'those opposing Article 370 abrogation ignorant of the situation on the ground'."
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.
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.
'Strange when people who don't have the capacity to fight a ward poll, were "chaprasis" of Congress leaders give "gyaan" about the party it's laughable'
'Our fight is not against the country but against the BJP and its ideology. The BJP is not the country and vice versa'
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday launched a veiled attack on Congress leaders and said he gave sweat and blood for the party unlike those who are spreading 'falsehood' through social media.
Two Al-Badr terrorists, responsible for the recent attacks on migrant labourers in Kashmir, were killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in Pulwama district, the police said on Thursday.
The PDP led by former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has decided to stay away from the delimitation process, saying the body lacks 'constitutional and legal mandate' and is part of the overall process of political disempowerment of people of Jammu and Kashmir.
As Azad ended his decades-old association with the party, leaders across political spectrum praised his contribution to Jammu and Kashmir, with the BJP hailing him as a "towering leader".
It's just not a date. It's just not about selecting a candidate. It's not about helping some candidate win. It's about expressing emotion, after ten years, that could reach out in India and beyond it, notes Sheela Bhatt.
The Congress will launch a two-month door-to-door campaign across India from next week to spread Rahul Gandhi's message among the masses, senior leader Jairam Ramesh said on Friday.
With the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) scheduled to meet Tuesday, intra-party consultations in Jammu and Kashmir continued for a second day Monday to discuss the Centre's invitation for an all-party meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24.
The biggest electoral upset in the state was witnessed in Anantnag with National Conference candidate and former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi defeating former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Ahead of the visit of an all-party delegation to Jammu and Kashmir, political parties on Saturday pitched for holding dialogue with "all stakeholders", including Hurriyat, to douse the unrest and banning the use of pellet guns by security forces.
With 20 lakh tulips of 46 varieties in its lap, Asia's largest Tulip garden overlooking the world famous Dal Lake in Srinagar was on Saturday thrown open to visitors, marking the beginning of new tourism season in the valley.
"There is a need to apply balm to the wounds of Kashmiri people," she said.
Reaching out to the opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday sought its cooperation in the passage of GST bill even as it asserted that government will be targeted over developments in Arunachal Pradesh and Kashmir during Parliament's Monsoon Session starting on Monday.
The army had to had to aim at the crowd when jawans claimed to have been fired upon from the other side.
As suspense over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir continued, Peoples Democratic Party on Monday said the idea of a grand alliance with the National Conference and Congress was an option for forming a stable government in the state.
Desperate people waiting for a lift or walking on foot has become a common sight in the trouble-torn Kashmir Valley where public transport has remained suspended for the past 80 days.
"We intend to talk to individuals and groups who want peace and normalcy in Kashmir Valley," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said before the departure of delegation comprising 30 members from 20 parties.
Kashmiris are our own people," said HM Rajnath Singh in Rajya Sabha.
Bodies of all the five soldiers were flown to their home towns after the wreath-laying ceremonies, the spokesman said.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday accused it of destabilising institutions, polarising society and mistaking its parliamentary majority for a licence to impose its narrow ideology on people
The slain armymen are Sepoy Ilayaraja P, from TN, and Sepoy Gawai Sumedh Waman, from Maha.
The briefing comes ahead of the parliament session beginning Monday.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh declared that there is no question of handing over Kashmir to the Army, quashing rumours that are being spread 'deliberately'.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday joined the ongoing controversy over Gen (retd) V K Singh's statement on Jammu and Kashmir politicians, saying if he discloses the former Army chief's advice to him years ago, it would be big embarrassment for everyone.
'The Kashmiri identity and its unique blend of Sufi Islam, its culture and language can best survive in a plural and secular India.' 'Neither independence nor merger with Pakistan can achieve that objective.' 'Peace will return to Kashmir only when Kashmiris realise this, else they will be part of the 1,000- year war,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
While they were invited with protests at Geelani's home, they were turned away by Yasin Malik, who was lodged in jail.
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