Even as its demand for disenfranchisement of Muslims community has evoked sharp reactions from political parties, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday sought to know why the issue of voting rights of Kashmiri Pandits has not been raised in the same manner.
Singh said it was not possible for him to continue with the PDP which 'disregarded the demands and aspirations of Jammu region'.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday expressed his support for Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who has been criticised for his inability to control the spiraling violence in the state.
The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party held "unbridled use of force" responsible for the present unrest in Jammu and Kashmir which has claimed so many lives saying the crisis had worsened with the guilty troops going unpunished.
The Union home ministry has sought a report from Jammu and Kashmir government on circumstances leading to release from jail of hardline separatist leader Masarat Alam, who has over 15 cases pending against him.
Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday said it is in a "difficult" situation over choosing a post-poll ally as election trends show that it won't be able to form government on its own.
Omar said that the NC has been telling them time and again that if they are not ready to form the government, they should be bold enough to break the alliance.
'They are both very individualistic and have similar personalities.'
The bypoll assumes significance as Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is seeking her election to the assembly from the constituency.
'And the old war horse has left nothing to chance. He campaigned vigorously in the by-election defying his age,' says Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir.
Omar had lost the seat to People's Democratic Party candidate Qazi Mohammad Afzal during 2002 assembly polls, which proved crucial in the formation of the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led PDP Congress coalition government that ruled the state for nearly six years.
As of now, Azad couldn't be in the BJP leadership's calculus. The BJP has been trying to drill into the J&K electorate that this time around the UT would most certainly have a Hindu chief minister, explains Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'It is an uncomfortable situation for a woman.' 'She has been on her own, separated from family.' 'That is the point of isolating her -- breaking her to a point where she bends to their will.'
The date for the oath ceremony of the new cabinet was decided after deliberations between the leadership of both the parties.
Though the PDP-BJP alliance staked claim to form government in the state last Saturday, the date for swearing-in of the chief minister-designate is yet to be announced.
We had a good talk with the chief minister of J-K: Rajnath
The PDP chief visited New Delhi on Monday and has reportedly called a meeting of party legislators to brief them about her talks with BJP leaders.
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.
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.
The fate of the BJP-PDP alliance may be known on Monday as PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti talks tough.
A few incidents of protests were reported in Jammu city even as mobile Internet services remained suspended and policemen deployed in strength to thwart any flare up.
Maintaining that it would put up candidates in all six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday ruled out alliance with any party during the upcoming parliamentary polls.
Lt Gen (retd) S K Sinha, till recently Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, on Thursday launched a frontal attack on the state's main political parties, especially PDP and its patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, accusing him of being "hand in glove" with separatists and fundamentalists. At the centre of controversy over the land for Amarnath yatra which paralysed the valley in recent days, Sinha denounced PDP as "anti-national".
Dr Singh, who arrived at Jammu airport by a special plane from New Delhi on Friday afternoon, flew in a helicopter to the Chenab bridge site, about 27-km from Jammu, and dedicated it to the nation. Governor Lt. Gen. (retd) S K Sinha, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig and former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed were among others who received the prime minister at the airport and also accompanied him to the bridge site.
Addressing a public meeting in Mahore town of Reasi district on Sunday, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party patron said: "Jammu and Kashmir should become a model among the SAARC countries by allowing both Indian and Pakistani currency to operate in the state." Mufti defended his proposal by quoting the example of European Union, where he said "free travel was possible among 40 countries without any visa restrictions."
Mehbooba Mufti will be CM while Nirmal Singh will again be the deputy chief minister in the new cabinet, a post he had held in the Mufti Mohammed Syeed's dispensation.
Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and People's Democratic Party leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has demanded that the Centre investigate the role of Lieutenant General (Retired) S K Sinha in the Malegaon blast as during the latter's tenure as the state's governor, religious leader Dayanand Pandey used to visit Kashmir regularly and was treated like a state guest.Sources close to Lt Gen Sinha rejected Mufti's charges as outrageous.
Mufti sent a communication to the chief minister asking him to withdraw the security provided to him.
'Respect the pledges you have made to the people of Kashmir.' 'Jammu and Kashmir is not like any other state of the country.'
Twenty four people died and 49 others were injured, five of them critically, when an overcrowded bus rolled down into a 300 feet deep gorge in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
The decision came after the PDP's core group met for the first time on Sunday following the demise of former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
When he was chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was able to blunt inter-regional and inter-communal tensions which Farooq and Omar Abdullah could not do. Whether he can repeat it with the BJP by his side would have to be seen, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kavinder Gupta was elected unanimously as Speaker of the 12th Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir.
The letter claims that the order for Alam's release was sent in February
