The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'AAP-da'(disaster) blitzkrieg.
Earlier this week, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held a series of meetings, including with Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Janata Dal-United president Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lallan.
The L-G will take decisions on police, officers of all-India services such as the IAS and the IPS, and giving sanction for prosecution in various cases.
If Mehbooba is 'allowed' to survive unchecked she could transform her campaign into a sentiment typically suited to the ground conditions in Kashmir, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
A BJP MP from Nagaland has alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came "very close" to her and "shouted" at her during a protest outside the Parliament, making her feel "uncomfortable." The incident has led to a war of words between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, with both sides accusing each other of misconduct. The BJP has demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi, while the Congress has denied the allegations.
"It will take time," Sayeed told media persons.
The encounter took place when the troops of Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group of J&K Police launched a joint cordon and search operation at Dhari Gote Urarbagi in Desa forest belt, some 55 km from Doda town, late Monday evening, the officials said.
As the Opposition held its first meeting on the Presidential polls and names of Farooq Abdullah and Gopalkrishna Gandhi also cropped up, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party reached out to several parties across the political spectrum to build a consensus choice with senior party leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh speaking to Sharad Pawar, Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress), Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress), Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) and Naveen Patnaik (Biju Janata Dal).
A group of several hundred people pelted stones at the house of PDP MP Nazir Ahmad Laway and injured two security guards, a police officer said.
'The whole Kashmiri population is seemed to be a suspect community. This status is not good.'
Our political history tells us this has never worked. A united Opposition does work in some specific, limited situations, especially in the states. But never as some brilliant pan-national collection of diverse interests with no ideological or political core, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The BJP state unit hailed Vasan and said his advice will be used in the coming days to guide the alliance.
What difference would raising Pakistani flags make? Now the government of India is getting restless, getting more perturbed. It is being done deliberately," said Kamal.
Besides Azad, two PDP and one BJP candidate won.
The 82-year-old former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister received the ED summons a day after the formation of the People's Alliance led by him was announced on October 15.
'It is very unfortunate that the AAP seems to be looking at the issue through the prism of rivalry with Congress in Delhi and Punjab'
The Congress on Tuesday said it cannot accept the Haryana assembly polls verdict as there were 'serious issues' about the integrity of the counting process and functioning of the EVMs in some districts, and asserted that it would take up the matter with the Election Commission.
As the Opposition on Wednesday held its first meeting on the presidential election, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party reached out to several parties across the political spectrum to build a consensus choice for the top constitutional post with senior party leader Rajnath Singh speaking to Sharad Pawar, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Naveen Patnaik, sources said.
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.
'It seems that Modi ji has some hand in the EVMs'
The ruling People's Democratic Party on Friday rejected the allegation of former chief minister Omar Abdullah about spying on him.
Harping on putting up a united front, the Congress alleged that democracy is being "mercilessly murdered" and MPs who raise people's issues are suspended from the House.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who set off a national debate when he walked the Bharat Jodo Yatra in a T-shirt in north India's cold winter, donned a pheran to ward off Kashmir's bone-freezing chill on Monday.
Speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Mubarak Gul on Wednesday aid he will summon former Army Chief V K Singh to explain his position on his controversial statement about payoffs to politicians in the state.
The grand old party faces the onerous task of rebuilding its moribund organisation, which is struggling to overcome a leadership crisis and regain credibility with the voters.
'The problem with such ill-considered remarks is that they give the BJP an opportunity to push ahead with its nationalist agenda which includes depicting its opponents as seditionists,' observes Amulya Ganguli.
At the moment, there appears to be no alternative political narrative to the one lying buried under the debris of havoc caused on this front by the fallout of 'August 5, 2019', asserts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
PDP patron Mehbooba Mufti staked claim to form a government with the support of the Congress and the National Conference, while People's Conference leader Sajad Lone also staked claim to form the government with the help of the 25-member BJP.
Opposition leaders also raised the issue of MPs not being allowed to visit Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of its special status, whereas parliamentarians from Europe have been taken to the state, with Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury describing the EU delegation as 'bhade ke tattu' (hirelings).
Election campaigning has picked up steam in Jammu and Kashmir which goes to polls on November 25.
A basic outline and roadmap for Opposition unity are likely to be deliberated upon with the contentious issue of seat sharing and leadership questions to be avoided for now.
Abdul Gani Dar was shot at three times from a close range with an AK assault rifle, he said, adding two bullets hit him in the chest and one in the shoulder.
It was also suggested that an all-party delegation should visit Kashmir to assess the situation but the government did not make commitments regarding any of their demands.
'An entire operation was running systematically prior to the revoking of Article 370.'
Kharge said the leaders of INDIA parties have come together as democracy is under threat under the Bharatiya Janata Party government.
Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in as new chief minister of Maharashtra while allies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy CMs at a grand ceremony in Mumbai on Thursday evening.
Ahead of the crucial third round of discussions, the opposition INDIA bloc on Wednesday exuded confidence that it would provide a formidable alternative to bring political change in the country and asserted that it has several prime ministerial faces against BJP's only one.
Stone-pelting youth were not giving up their lives for tourism but for resolution of the Kashmir issue as per the wishes of its people, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said.
Sources close to Reddy confirmed that his visit to the hill shrine has been cancelled, but did not immediately divulge the reason behind the decision that came just a couple of hours before he was supposed to depart to the temple town.
The Kerala unit of the Congress instantly gets a headache when Shashi Tharoor lets loose one of his observations showering flowers on enemy territory. With every such action triggering controversy within a nervous Congress party, some feel it is high time Tharoor showed a degree of solidarity with the ideals of his party, notes Shyam G Menon.
