The manifesto claims that while the BJP has unified the country by abrogating provisions of Article 370 and Article 35A that provided special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration -- an amalgam of several mainstream political parties, including the Ntional Conference and the People's Democratic Party -- was working against the national interest for vote bank politics.
Eleven states and Union territories -- Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand -- had a voter turnout lower than the national average of 67.40 percent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked National Conference leader Mohammed Akbar Lone to file an affidavit swearing allegiance to the Constitution of India and accepting the country's sovereignty, after the 'Pakistan zindabad' slogan that he allegedly raised in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly in 2018 kicked up a massive row.
The Opposition INDIA bloc on Friday finalised a 14-member coordination-cum-election strategy committee comprising members of various parties, and it will function as the alliance's highest decision-making body and start work on seat-sharing immediately, sources said.
The action, announced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, is a response to the group's involvement in fomenting terrorism and spreading anti-India sentiment within the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Among the keenly watched contests are those involving former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj, UP) and Union ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar), Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur, Bihar) and Raosaheb Danve (Jalna, Maharashtra).
The victim was identified as Sanjay Sharma, a resident of the Achan area in the south Kashmir district, they said, adding that the incident took place at around 11 am.
Campaigning ended on Wednesday evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
The fundamental construct of India's neighbourhood policy still needs to be what Vajpayee postulated, Manmohan Singh embraced, and Modi energised. It's just that we need to junk domestic politics and excessive religiosity, while acquiring much humility and a renewed respectfulness towards our neighbours, recommends Shekhar Gupta.
With no agenda announced for the meeting, the leaders from Jammu and Kashmir said they have come with an open mind.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the ongoing delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir has to happen quickly so that polls can be held to instal an elected government that gives strength to its development trajectory.
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.
Puran Krishan was attacked near his residence in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir district, they said, adding that doctors declared Krishan brought dead after he was shifted to Shopian hospital.
Pak had realised in 2018 that Hurriyat Conference, the separatist conglomerate created by Inter-Services Intelligence, won't be able to deliver any more
'If you go by the essence of the Constitution of India, I don't see any problem in having a separate PM for J-K.'
Lone, after accepting the invitation from the Prime Minister, said his party termed the move of the centre as "positive" and would emphasise identifying other parties and individuals necessary for inclusive participation.
Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has accorded sanction for the prosecution of author Arundhati Roy and a former Kashmiri professor in a 2010 case related to alleged provocative speeches, Raj Niwas officials said on Tuesday.
Under the alliance arrangement for the mayoral elections, the AAP will fight for the mayor's seat while the Congress will contest the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.
The 71st Republic Day was celebrated in Kashmir amidst tight security. Lieutenant Governor's advisor presided over the main function. However most mainstream politicians stayed away.
Mehbooba was addressing a joint press conference with Omar Abdullah and Hurriyat Conference Chief Mirwaiz Umer Farooq on the sidelines of the Hindustan Times Summit.
The leaders from Jammu and Kashmir's political parties were placed under detention following the abrogation of Article 370 by the Centre on August 5.
Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was released from house arrest on Friday, September 22, 2023, four years after he was taken into detention.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This is the third such terrorist attack in as many days in Kashmir valley.
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.
In his first public appearance following his release from four-year house arrest on Friday, Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq reiterated the stand of his separatist amalgam that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir has to be resolved through dialogue and peaceful means.
'Don't worry, will sort it out son'
Polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
While the panchayat and urban local bodies are completing their five-year term between November 5 and January 9, 2024, almost all political parties are demanding early assembly elections in J and K for restoration of popular government.
What should have been a direct contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress in the Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency is now a three-corner fight with an alliance of local groups fielding an Independent to challenge the national parties.
Aijaz Hussain won the Khonmoh-II District Development Council seat in Srinagar, while Aijaz Ahmad Khan gave the party more reason to cheer by winning the Tulail seat in Bandipora district.
"It is shameful that Rahul Gandhi, instead of coming to Parliament and apologising for his undemocratic rant against India, today seeks to be absent from Parliament," she asserted.
Even though the NIA claims that more than 90 per cent of cases charge-sheeted have ended in conviction, the figure is likely misleading. To date, very few cases investigated by the NIA have resulted in a completed trial, points out former CBI joint director Navneet Rajan Wasan.
The ruling National Conference-Congress coalition in Jammu and Kashmir received a severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections as the coalition could not win even a single seat of the 6 in the state.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said notifying the rules for the CAA days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections shows the Bharatiya Janata Party is not confident about winning 400 seats in the ensuing polls.
Mukhtar Khan, Yasin Dar and Channi Anand -- three photojournalists working with the Associated Press (AP) -- were among those who were awarded the Pulitzer on Monday night.
Right to apprenticeship, legal guarantee for MSP, passing a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs, a nation-wide caste census and scrapping of Agnipath scheme are among the promises made by the Congress in its Lok Sabha polls manifesto released on Friday.
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