"I am free... Hope others political leaders would be released soon. Thank all parliamentarians who fought for my freedom. Will be able to take decision on future only after other leaders are released," Abdullah, the Lok Sabha member from Srinagar, told reporters from the terrace of his residence in Srinagar.
The Thursday's meeting will be the first between the Centre and mainstream Jammu and Kashmir politicians after the abrogation of Article 370 and the divisions of the erstwhile state into two union territories in 2019.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday met Governor N N Vohra and briefed him about the prevailing situation in the state. The meeting came in the backdrop of the row over the alleged custodial death of a National Conference worker. "The chief minister called on the governor here this afternoon and discussed with him the prevailing situation," official sources said. The sources said Omar briefed the governor about the steps taken by his government.
"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.
From politics to fashion, the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance remains intact. Prasanna D Zore reports
Leaders from Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday said after attending Prime Minister Narendra Modi's all-party meeting that they will 'continue to struggle' against the abrogation of Article 370 and urged the PM to restore the statehood of J-K at the earliest.
He said he told Vohra that in this situation when no single party has the mandate to form the government, the Governor has no other option than to impose governor's rule immediately.
"Our handshake with Indian Union was subject to certain conditions," he said.
Government formation in Jammu and Kashmir remains a puzzle with the Bharatiya Janata Party looking for a partner among the state's mainstream parties but the National Conference has virtually ruled out a tie up with the saffron party.
"Trust is something that has been missing from both sides (Delhi and Srinagar). Successive prime ministers -- Jawaharlal Nehru, Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee -- made promises but the trust deficit has persisted," he added.
Government sources said the former chief minister may also be tried as when the proposed accountability commission is set up.
Jammu and Kashmir National Panther's Party chief Bhim Singh, who is undergoing treatment in Jammu hospital, has called the pact between National Conference and the Congress to form new government in the state as a complete sell out.
A new political party called the 'Jammu and Kashmir Apni (own) Party' (JKAP) will be launched on Sunday and will be led by former state finance minister Syed Altaf Bukhari, with the primary aim of proving "relief to people who have been facing uncertainty since August 5 last year". This will be the first political activity in Jammu and Kashmir after August 5 last year, when the Centre withdrew the special status of the erstwhile state and bifurcated it into Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Introducing the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said it was a demand of the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the language they speak should be the official language.
Nineteen candidates saw an extremely close contest in the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu and Kashmir where the margin of victory was less than 100.
Pandemonium hit the Jammu and Kashmir state assembly on Monday again as the speaker disallowed an adjournment motion moved by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party seeking a discussion on the alleged custodial death of a ruling National Conference worker in Srinagar last week.
While Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that he would present his case before the judicial inquiry ordered by the state government into mysterious death of Syed Mohammad Yousuf, a National Conference worker last week, People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti is unwilling to buy his theory.
The ruling National Conference's traditional bastion Ganderbal is set for a triangular fight with People's Democratic Party, National Conference and an Independent contesting the polls after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah decided not to contest from the constituency which goes to polls on November 25.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday urged top opposition leaders to rise above political compulsions to take on the BJP in the interest of the nation and start planning "systematically" to realise the "ultimate goal" of winning the 2024 Lok Sabha polls
Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natrajan has denied the charge that the Gongress has reached an understanding with Farooq Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and promised to make him the chief minister in case his party wins the forthcoming state assembly elections that would be held in seven phases between November 17, and December 24.
Nearly two years after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two UTs and revocation of its special status, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held talks with top political leaders from the erstwhile state, and said the Centre's priority is to strengthen grassroots democracy there for which delimitation has to happen quickly so that polls can be held.
Opposition National Conference on Wednesday accused the state government of discriminating against the Kashmir Valley over the distribution of power sector funds as they disrupted the proceedings of the Assembly, forcing the Speaker to marshal them out and adjourn the House for 10 minutes.
Released on Friday after his detention under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) was revoked, former chief minister Farooq Abdullah drove from his residence to nearby Hari Nivas where his son, also a former chief minister, has been held first under preventive custody since February 5 under the PSA. The two warmly embraced.
He was earlier questioned in the case for over six hours on Monday. His son and former chief minister Omar Abdullah expressed his displeasure and tweeted the party statement on his father's questioning with the comment: 'This on a day when my father turns 84!'
Only three per cent of women candidates have been allotted tickets in Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls.
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.
What the leaders said after the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday.
The ruling National Conference on Sunday termed the opposition Peoples Democratic Party as "enemy number one" of the People of Jammu and Kashmir for the highest degree of corruption during its rule as Jammu and Kashmir became number two corrupt state after Bihar.
'His revelation about what went on behind the scenes make it abundantly clear that the BJP must have indulged in similar tactics in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya where it formed a government even though it did not have a majority,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'I am not afraid of BJP. I am not armed with lathi or stone, let them come to me and reply to my questions which they will not'
The first-ever district development council (DDC) elections will be held in eight phases to elect 280 members in 20 districts from November 28 to December 22.
Addressing Uddhav Thackeray, Ranaut later posted a video message saying his "ego will be destroyed" the way her Bandra home was demolished.
Even as the ruling National Conference felt the time was not "appropriate" for holding polls in Jammu and Kashmir because of September's devastating floods, its coalition partner Congress and opposition parties in the state welcomed the Election Commission's announcement of conducting assembly elections on time.
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Monday said assembly elections should be held only after restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government to honour its commitment made on the floor of Parliament.
In the wake of bitter feud in Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, some Maharashtra leaders of the party have threatened to quit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to chair a meeting with all political parties from Jammu and Kashmir on June 24 as part of the Centre's initiatives to bolster political processes, including holding assembly elections, in the union territory, officials said in New Delhi.
Last week's heavy snowfall seems to have affected electioneering in Kashmir. South Kashmir's Anantnag and the prestigious Srinagar constituencies go to polls on April 24 and April 30 in the five phased Lok Sabha polls in the state.
The situation in the Valley is tense as the fresh order directing the zonal SPs to provide the list of mosques here and its management committees has added to speculation about some major decision in the offing regarding Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
Opposition parties on Tuesday asked the government to call an all-party meeting to resolve the current impasse in Parliament, while sticking to their demands for a discussion on Pegasus snooping issue and a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.
The Bal Puraskar was conferred by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who gave digital certificates to the awardees using blockchain technology developed by IIT Kanpur.
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