"I had no government as the seat of the establishment was wiped out by the worst floods in over a century," Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Thursday, recalling the nightmare of the disaster that hit his state six days ago.
'A six month extension, if not extended further, would make General Bajwa a lame duck chief, altering the balance of his equations with the senior peer group of lieutenant generals,' says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
Jammu and Kashmir high court has ruled that Article 370, granting special status to the state, has assumed place of permanence in the Constitution and the feature is beyond amendment, repeal or abrogation.
The Apex court said, "It appears that the Lieutenant Governor (Najeeb Jung) has made positive moves in exploring the possibility of government formation in Delhi. There could be a minority government with an outside support of a political outfit. Let us wait for sometime".
'You have to fight a lot of forces. To fight these forces and ensure control of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, it is important the central government should fully stand behind us.'
'Not only has the ire against the Congress subsided in Gujarat, but people are now coming to their senses.'
The positivity over Narendra Modi's election speech in Jammu is unanimous, but it comes with guarded optimism as many would like to wait and watch to see how the new government actually manages the 25-year-old issue, says Upasna Pandey
'Embedded with the divisive regime, they administer heavy doses of the opium of religion and nationalism day in and day out,' observes Mohammad Sajjad.
Here's the full text of President's address with a word cloud.
'Modi is still immensely popular and, therefore, he can sustain any number of policy failures.' 'Modi himself has worn multiple faces so it would be naive to think that the Modi of 2021 will be the same Modi that will be campaigning for re-election in 2024.'
There were no signs of either the Peoples Democratic Party, the largest group, or the Bharatiya Janata Party, the close runner-up, getting the requisite numbers to stake claim to forming a new government in Jammu and Kashmir as the deadline set by Governor N N Vohra for discussions fast approached.
For the government to meet its GST roll-out deadline of April 1, 2017, the states will have to ratify the Bill before Parliament's winter session, starting November.
As the BJP snaps at its heels, can the Communists stay relevant in the electoral game?
'Till the time we do not remove fear in the minds of Muslims of India, how will we achieve peace?' asks the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Gorakhpur, Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, who says he will resign as a member of the Uttar Pradesh assembly if any Indian Muslim of his constituency is evicted from the country during the Citizenship (Amendment) Act exercise.
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
'This is a long haul, god knows where it will end.' 'So it is best to conserve all the funds right now for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.'
The next general election is more than three years away. Yet, the Centre appears to be reluctant to take any bold move that might annoy influential sections of the electorate.
A man of perseverance and great survivor, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed had an astute political sense honed by decades of experience in Kashmir politics that has stood him in good stead in crafting a delicate alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party to return as chief minister for the second time.
"Our government does not delay decisions. We neither nurse problems nor keep them pending," Modi said.
The major shake-up of the council of ministers -- including six of the BJP and two of the PDP -- follows BJP ministers Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga resigning from the cabinet earlier this month after they were criticised for taking part in a rally in support of those accused in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua.
Rashid was at the Press Club in Delhi on Monday afternoon, when three men set upon him and threw black ink on him.
The Union Health ministry put the number of positive cases at 82, eight more since Thursday night, which includes the woman and a 76-year-old man from Karnataka who became the country's first coronavirus fatality besides 17 foreign nationals, Health Ministry officials said.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has launched an ambitious plan to reach out to at least 10,000 key opinion makers -- jurists, bureaucrats, etc -- in the next two years to dispel "misinformation" related to Article 370 of the Constitution.
Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on Wednesday decided to invite political parties to explore the possibility of government formation in Delhi, a day after Supreme Court's rap over delay in taking a decision on the issue.
"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.
Gujarat has topped with a score of 71.14% on ease of doing business list.
Deadlock over government formation in J&K seems to have ended with PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday calling on PM Narendra Modi, a meeting which she described as "very positive" and "good" in addressing issues pertaining to the people of the state.
'Having dealt with security and insurgency for 15 years, I am fully convinced that the steps taken by the government in regard to J&K and the measures in force there are essential,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
The BJP leadership is understandably mulling all options on the roll-out of the GST.
Separatists and their wide network must be neutralized for peace in the Valley
She indicated that she was not looking for any financial package but the confidence building measures sought by her should focus on political aspect of the problem.
'In old India, there was no hatred, anger or lynching. New India is one where humans are enemies of each other'
Article 370 is a golden cage that keeps Kashmiris trapped in a stifling environment, deters other Indians from investing in the state perpetuating its economic penury and expressly hinders the understanding of India; all under the false premise of preserving a narrow parochial identity, says Vivek Gumaste.
'J&K continues to have the highest concentration of military personnel anywhere in the world and the alienation of the Kashmiri has increased in the last ten years than ever before.'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday announced a judicial probe into the September 7 Shopian incident in which four youth were allegedly killed in paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force firing.
The minimum punishment in cases of rape of women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of seven years to 10 years.
Parliament on Thursday cleared the decks for the rollout of the historic Goods and Services Tax from July 1 as it approved four supporting legislations to usher in the one-nation-one-tax regime.
The BJP, on the other hand, learnt from past mistakes to clinch power.
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Throughout a quarter century of proxy war, India has shown tremendous restraint in the face of grave provocation. It is inconceivable that any other nation would have refrained from launching trans-LoC operations to eliminate terrorist training camps and interdict known routes of infiltration, says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
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