Despite heavy snowfall in Srinagar, the rally to mark the culmination of Bharat Jodo Yatra went ahead, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other prominent leaders of opposition parties addressing the march.
The National Conference suffered a major setback in Jammu as two prominent leaders Devender Rana and Surjit Singh Slathia resigned from the party on Sunday.
The plan to relieve NSG from VIP security tasks has been in the making since 2012 when NSG commanders foresaw an event where simultaneous terror attacks could be witnessed at one time on multiple centres in the country and the commandos will have to be rushed in different directions.
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.
Congress sources said party president Rahul Gandhi met Lt Gen Hooda and discussed the modalities of the panel.
The BJP accused Congress leaders of colluding with foreign forces to destabilize India and demanded Sonia Gandhi to disclose her role in a George Soros Foundation-funded organization's activities. The ruling party also attacked Rahul Gandhi, calling him a "pawn" for his protests against the Adani issue.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has convened an all-party meeting in Srinagar on Monday to discuss ways to contain the violence that has engulfed the valley, according to an official spokesman. The chief minister will hold a meeting of legislators of the coalition partners on Sunday. The ruling coalition comprises Abdullah's National Conference and the Congress. The decision to hold an all-party meeting is part of the chief minister's initiative to reach out.
The parties reiterated that they are bound, wholly, by the contents of the 'Gupkar Declaration', a resolution issued after an all-party meeting on August 4, 2019 at the Gupkar residence of NC president Farooq Abdullah.
It also directed him to pay Rs 60,000 each for the education of his two sons every month.
'Earlier we had been told we were the crown of India.'
'This election was the first opportunity where Kashmiris told the world they do not agree with the Centre's policies and are unhappy about their disempowerment.'
Carrying placards, the opposition members tried to disrupt the governor's address thrice.
The sectarian killings by hit-and-run groups have revived and sharpened communal fears among the victims while the Poonch encounter reveals how deep the terrorists have dug in without getting noticed in the porous border area, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
This is the third such terrorist attack in as many days in Kashmir valley.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was on Friday caught on camera talking on his mobile phone when the national anthem was being played.
But he maintained that the cases against his son for attacking officials was as conspiracy against him.
Union Minister and National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said that Pakistan might disrupt the fragile peace process in Jammu and Kashmir. "The turbulent days are slowly getting over. But I want to tell you that we are very scared. I am still scared of my neighbour (Pakistan) and it is not wrong because a very dangerous situation is developing. May God bless them with wisdom and strengthen democracy (in Pakistan)," Farooq told the media at an event in Delhi.
The National Conference, the People's Democratic Party and the Congress on Saturday said they will take a call on attending a meeting with the prime minister in Delhi after deliberations within their respective parties, while the Bharatiya Janata Party expressed hope that all invitees will take part in the all-party deliberations.
A boat carrying mostly school children capsized in the Jhelum river on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday, leaving six people dead, officials said.
"Through dialogue, our (Kashmir) issue will also be resolved. War is not a solution," National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said.
According to the orders of the commission, set up under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019, the Union territory will have 90 assembly constituencies -- 43 in Jammu Division and 47 in Kashmir -- with nine of them being reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.
Parties like the NC and Peoples Democratic Party claimed the administration has not addressed their main concern on whether ''outsiders'' ordinarily residing in J-K will be allowed to enroll as voters.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah attended Kashmiri Pandit businessman Makhan Lal Bindroo's funeral on Wednesday.
It is the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister travelled to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
It added that there had been several reminders from the club to the government for freeing the communication of newspaper offices, journalists and the club itself.
"If the defence minister thinks that by examination and change in currency (demonetisation), the storm, which has erupted here, will die down, then he has a misconception. This storm will not die down. Whatever they do, this storm is there and after exams, they will see that the storm will rise once again."
Jammu and Kashmir's Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar said the Union territory is likely to get around 25 lakh additional voters, including outsiders, after the special summary revision of electoral rolls being held for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370.
'It is not about trusting the governor but the ground situation not matching with what he has said,' Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement chief Shah Faesal, who was one of the leaders to meet the governor tells Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.
Abdullah said both Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims suffered and even his workers and ministers were killed in large numbers since the eruption of terrorism.
For the first time in 25 years since the start of militancy in Kashmir, the separatists have not called for a general strike on Martyrs' Day on Monday in view of the fasting month of Ramzan.
'Whether she is in power or not, she always makes it a point to visit us. This is her best quality as a leader.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's message is loud and clear that anyone acting against the unity, sovereignty, and integrity of the nation will not be spared and face the full wrath of the law.
It will be for the first time in nearly nine years India's external affairs minister will travel to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained frosty over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
This is the third killing of a local elected representative by militants in Jammu and Kashmir this month.
Shah said stringent actions would be taken against any individual who jeopardises the nation's security.
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.
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.
National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a money laundering case in Delhi on May 31, official sources said on Friday.
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 root of the Kashmir problem lies in Partition. To solve the issue, we have to begin from there and settle it forever.'
