Softening its stand on the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said that if voted to power, the party will create an atmosphere where such a 'stringent' law would not be required.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday said it will protect the special status granted to the state under Indian Constitution.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is projected to get a majority in Jharkhand while Jammu and Kashmir may return a hung verdict with PDP emerging as the single largest party followed by BJP in assembly elections in the two states, according to two separate exit polls on Saturday.
Released on Friday after his detention under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) was revoked, former chief minister Farooq Abdullah drove from his residence to nearby Hari Nivas where his son, also a former chief minister, has been held first under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.
Raking up the border issue, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said every individual in Ladakh knows that China has "taken away our land" and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that not an inch of land was taken away was "absolutely false".
Political and communal divide in Jammu and Kashmir has assumed such proportions that even the horrifying rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl is not bringing society together, writes Athar Parvaiz.
A journalist working with a leading local English daily on Monday alleged that he was beaten up by the personal security personnel of Jammu and Kashmir Minister Ghulam Nabi Lone after an argument.
The JKSM activists might have drawn inspiration from the mashaal (torch) rally of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front as part of its safar-e-azadi (journey to freedom).
The governor's comments drew sharp reaction from former chief minister and senior Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, who said Malik should check his own reputation in Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the passage of bills as a "momentous occasion" in parliamentary democracy and said a new dawn awaits the people there as they are now free from the "shackles" of vested interest groups.
Mufti appealed to all shades of opinion in joining in the mission to get the state out of violence and bloodshed.
Tharoor argued that the proposed bill represents a "grave chapter in the history of the Indian republic, seeking to ratify an ordinance that in many ways is an assault on our democratic heritage and the spirit of federalism."
In an emphatic victory for the Modi government, the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld its decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution that bestowed special status upon the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, ordered restoration of statehood "at the earliest" and set a September 30, 2024, deadline for holding the assembly elections.
Sparking a controversy, a Congress candidate for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections has mentioned the marriage of his daughter as a "liability" in his affidavit submitted along with his nomination papers.
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police S P Vaid on Friday lauded the restraint shown by the Central Reserve Police Force jawans who were heckled by some youths in Budgham on Sunday, saying "any armed force in the world would have retaliated with force".
Shah said "three families" are answerable to the people for their failure to develop Jammu and Kashmir over the past seven decades.
Counting of votes will be held today in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand which witnessed a record turnout in the multi-cornered contests to elect their assemblies.
The PDP elected the 56 year old unanimously to succeed her father.
Davinder Singh was being treated at par with the terrorists and jointly interrogated by all security agencies. He was ferrying the terrorists in a car. One of the arrested terrorists is Naveed, a former police constable who deserted the force in 2017 to join the Hizbul Mujahideen.
'I am not afraid of BJP. I am not armed with lathi or stone, let them come to me and reply to my questions which they will not'
Polling will be held on November 17, 20, 24, 27 and 29 and December 1, 4, 8 and 11 from 8 am to 2 pm.
"We know you have the numbers and you will pass the budget anyway. But some good suggestions could have come from here (assembly)," he said.
In its attempt to clinch majority in the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly, Opposition Peoples Democratic Party is trying to make inroads in Jammu by raking up "regional discrimination" and secularism card to woo the Hindu voters of the region.
'The youth have given New Delhi a chance. Now it is up to the policy-makers in Delhi to respect their political choices.'
"NC is not power hungry... We shunned prospects of an alliance with the BJP a year ago and the reasons for having done that remain unchanged," Omar wrote on his official Facebook page.
Opposition National Conference on Wednesday accused the state government of discriminating against the Kashmir Valley over the distribution of power sector funds as they disrupted the proceedings of the Assembly, forcing the Speaker to marshal them out and adjourn the House for 10 minutes.
In Srinagar, wearing black bands, scores of PDP leaders and activists, led by party president Mehbooba Mufti, took out a protest march from the party's head office near the Sher-e-Kashmir Park.
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday asked former army chief V K Singh to name Jammu and Kashmir politicians who were allegedly paid money by the army for "stability", saying if details are given the government was ready to probe.
There will be eight more phases of Panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
People's Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was on Sunday sworn-in as the 12th chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sounding the poll bugle for the second phase of Assembly elections in Udhampur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sought a clear mandate for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu and Kashmir for the state's development
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.
"There is a need for stage-wise progress in the process and the first step would be to withdraw all army and paramilitary troops from the state," he said.
The rally was addressed by BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav.
Major opposition political parties and separatists groups in J&K on Wednesday slammed the move of the government to create separate townships for Kashmiri pandit migrants.
Local residents started pelting security personnel with stones, leading to clashes, they said, adding that some civilians were injured.
Rajnath Singh led the delegation of 26 MPs from 20 parties which stayed overnight in Srinagar before stopping over in Jammu this afternoon.
Villagers along the Line of Control in Poonch and Rajouri have been asked to shift immediately inside the bunkers in case of shelling from across the border.
Former Union minister Farooq Abdullah on Thursday said India will not be able to keep Kashmir if the forces who see Muslims of the country with suspicion and pit the minority community against the majority are not reined in.
I suggest we build a Vigyan Mandir (Temple of Science) with the ambience of a place of worship, so that it becomes a destination for pilgrims. We should embed on its walls bronze plaques describing each scientist mentioned here along with about a dozen of our ancient mathematicians, recommends Professor Kalyan Singhal, historian of science and technology.
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