Murmu's address to the joint sitting of Parliament will also be the first after the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha.
Five army personnel were killed and six injured on Monday when terrorists ambushed their vehicle in the remote Machedi area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, officials said.
The high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' approached 62 parties out which 47 responded -- 32 in support of holding elections simultaneously, 15 against it.
A worker from Punjab who was injured in Wednesday's terror attack in Srinagar's Habba Kadal area died at the SKIMS hospital in Srinagar on Thursday morning, taking the toll to two in the first targeted killing of the year by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
The defence minister said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was present at the Trump-Modi meeting held on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Osaka and his statement is the "most authentic" on the issue.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is hopeful that the issue will come handy to its efforts to gain political traction in Dravidian state as it gears up for the Lok Sabha polls.
'The West has always opposed a strong nationalist leader in India and Narendra Modi is no exception.' 'The West prefers weak leaders who are amenable to Western pressure and Mr Modi's independent stance is not to the liking of the West,' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'On the drive to the airport, the streets are lined with men in battle camouflage carrying assault rifles and bearing familiar faces -- Tamilians, Bengalis, Punjabis, feared by the locals and in turn fearing them,' notes Aakar Patel during a visit to Srinagar.
According to an official release, the voting percentage is likely to go up when reports from all polling stations are obtained, as polling was scheduled until 6 pm in many constituencies.
The briefing comes ahead of the parliament session beginning Monday.
Asked how many seats the Congress would fight on, Singh said they would be flexible in seat sharing.
"The new districts, namely Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra and Changthang, will take the benefits meant for the people to their doorsteps by bolstering governance in every nook and cranny," he said.
In a veiled attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal's Lalu Prasad Yadav, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday accused opposition leaders of demonstrating a 'Mughal mindset' and "teasing" the people of the country by consuming non-vegetarian food in the holy month of Sawan and posting a video of it online.
'Although the tactical move to outflank the BJP fell through with New Delhi's decisive intervention and eventual dissolution of the state assembly, the PDP, NC and the Congress appeared to be more than satisfied.' 'They see the assembly dissolution as their 'great achievement'.' 'If one were to believe what they say, this was also their main objective,' reveals Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the doyen of Kashmiri commentators.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget on February 1 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections likely to be held in April-May.
The National People's Party, which rules Meghalaya, is another national party which received no donations through electoral bonds.
Please promise, especially those millions who trust you with their hard-earned money, never to let your voting preferences determine your actions on the markets. The most appalling and scary phenomenon was fund houses and brokerages going out on election yatras and writing copious reports promising more than 300 for the BJP. That was your wish as voters. Your investors are paying for it now, points out Shekhar Gupta.
His statement comes two days after the Congress Working Committee deplored the manner in which the government stripped J&K of its special status by scrapping provisions of Article 370, and bifurcated the state.
'Congress leaders don't believe in themselves and in the potential of the party.' 'Unless they have faith in themselves, only then will the public have faith in them.'
Before repeal of Article 370 and Article 35-A in August last year, non-residents could not buy any immovable property in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the fresh changes have paved the way for non-residents to buy land in the union territory.
"Last time I stood, I was not allowed to speak. The ruling party paid a very heavy price for throttling the voice of one MP," she said, referring to her suspension in the last session.
Several newly-wed couples turned up at polling stations in wedding attire to cast their votes in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur constituency which went to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday.
From steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal to billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal's Airtel, Anil Agarwal's Vedanta, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, and a lesser-known Future Gaming and Hotel Services were among the prominent buyers of the now-scrapped electoral bonds for making political donations.
Even as KPs lined up across special polling stations in Jammu amid tight security, several of them had to return without casting their vote.
'The opposition wants the country to run on the basis of Shariat but this cannot happen'
In the petition, Congress activist Tehseen Poonawalla ought withdrawal of 'curfew/restrictions' and release of leaders like former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.
Security forces tightened their cordon around a forest area in the higher reaches of Doda district on Tuesday evening following an encounter with hiding terrorists, officials said.
The 'aura of invincibility' around Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been 'shattered' by the Indian voters who gave the Opposition a new lease on life, this is how the international media described the outcome of India's general elections.
Congress put up five demands at the all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday including early statehood, conducting polls to restore democracy and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits.
Two government school teachers, including a woman, were shot dead by terrorists in Eidgah area of Srinagar amid increasing attacks on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
The defence minister also said the army, paramilitary forces and the Jammu and Kashmir Police have been coordinating to fight terrorism in the state.
As the Congress vehemently opposed the scrapping of the Constitutional provision that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, some party leaders raised voices of dissent and supported the government move.
The incident took place at the shop-cum-residence of BJP leader Wasim Bari, earlier district president of the party, where some motorcycle-borne terrorists attacked the three from a close range with a silencer-fitted revolver, they said.
He also said if the prime minister likes abusing the Congress and his great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, 'be my guest, but do your job'.
"We reaffirm that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India," spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar said.
The economy of Jammu and Kashmir is largely based on agriculture and tourism. The state produced 19.56 lakh MT of fresh fruits in 2018-19.
"The IAF played a vital role in five of the seven phases of the general elections, flying over 1,000 hours in over 1,750 sorties," it said.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday sought an apology from the Congress for the controversial statement by party MP that suggested a call for a separate south nation over fiscal injustice, but the opposition party's president said it stands for a united nation and will not tolerate any such call.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday targeted Jawaharlal Nehru and claimed that past mistakes were responsible for the problems such as Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and occupation of some parts of the Indian territory by China.
Glimpses from the Great Election Carnival on Sunday, April 21, 2024
