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.
Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy and president of the ruling National Conference Dr Farooq Abdullah filed his nomination papers from the prestigious Srinagar parliamentary constituency on Monday. The constituency goes to polls on April 30.
Using the hashtag 'Janta Maaf Nahi Karegi' (people will not forgive) in a tweet, Modi attacked Sam Pitroda, who looks after Congress's overseas affairs, for reportedly saying that post the Mumbai terror attacks, India could have responded with air strikes, but "according to me that's not how you deal with world."
The RSS criticised the previous UPA government at the centre and National Conference-Congress coalition government in the state for allowing Rohingyas to settle down in Jammu,
In a major setback to ruling National Conference-Congress coalition in Jammu and Kashmir, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday shared the six Lok Sabha seats in the state as two Union ministers, including Farooq Abdullah, bit the dust.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today took "total responsibility" for complete rout of the National Conference-Congress coalition in Lok Sabha polls in the state, and said the result was a "rude awakening" for those who wanted to wish away the Modi factor.
The poll process for the second tier of the Panchayati Raj system will be completed by November 5, he said.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir have formed a 10-member coordination committee to 'ensure that the agenda for the alliance is implemented within the defined timeframe and all the policy issues adhered to in letter and spirit'.
PDP pitched for revocation of AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir, saying there is "tangible improvement" in the security situation.
With his swearing-in, the five-decade-long practice of retired bureaucrats being appointed to the post has ended.
"What do they want us to do? They label us as a threat to peace and cage, confine and gag us. So how can we be of help?" said Mirwaiz.
Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal, Odisha and Sikkim will also be held simultaneously, the Election Commission said.
Outgoing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah categorically said on Thursday night that there was "no deal" or any "discussion" going on between his National Conference and the Bharatiya Janata Party over the issue of government formation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The fifth round of talks was held on December 5, while the sixth round originally scheduled for December 9 was called off after an informal meeting of Home Minister Shah with some union leaders failed to reach any breakthrough.
The PDP is the front-runner in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls. The ruling National Conference and the Congress will be lucky to reach double figures.
The Congress party will have an elected president by June 2021, with the party's working committee on Friday approving holding the internal election after the assembly polls.
Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah were involved in attempts to topple the JD-S-Congress government in Karnataka.
In a statement, the agency said the bail was granted to Yousuf Chopan, who had been arrested by the NIA in a terror conspiracy case, and not the February 2019 attack case.
While the Congress will contest the Jammu and Udhampur Lok Sabha seats, National Conference will fight from Srinagar.
'Those who are part of the NDA, like the JDU and LJP in Bihar, should also think. Polls are approaching in Bihar, people will seek answers from them'
As many as 37 farmer leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, Yogendra Yadav, Darshan Pal and Gurnam Singh Chaduni, have been named in a first information report in connection with the violence during the tractor parade that left 300 police personnel injured even as two farmer unions on Wednesday withdrew from the agitation against the farm laws.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said the BJP-led government needs to seriously think about the path it wants to take on the issue in the 150th year of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday.
"Talks are the only option," Mehbooba said. "How long can you have a confrontation?"
Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, however, said the audio was "utter falsehood."
The BJP has already cobbled up 28 seats to counter-bargain with the PDP's 28 seats in future talks. It is up to the Kashmir-based parties like the National Conference and PDP to assess the damage of going with the BJP which is perceived as the 'Hindu' party in the state. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com's takeways from a historic but fractured mandate in Jammu and Kashmir.
Gandhi said the prime minister continued shooting for a film till even three hours after news of the Pulwama terror strike came in.
The Kashmir-based PDP's linkage with the BJP could even be a turning point, provided it is safeguarded against real possibility of miscarriage. So-called fringe elements on either side, more so in the Saffron parivar, can easily upset Modi-Mufti applecart. They have only to drag contentious issues into limelight to do that, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
The media report said Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau has sent a request to the ministry of home affairs seeking legal assistance in its probe into the alleged kickbacks.
Mufti's political graph shows his fondness for courting unpopular, politically hazardous ventures in pursuit of his ultimate objective to vindicate his leadership. Towards the end of his life, Mufti's public profile had come to assume the dimensions of statesmanship. One reason being his willingness to learn from his experience, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
'Knowing him personally, I can safely say that the usually soft-spoken, qualified medical doctor would not have said what he was 'caught' saying if only he had realised that he was stepping on a political landmine across the emotional LoC, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
Addressing a press conference in the nation's capital, he claimed that Verma's removal was an "insult" to the Constitution, the chief justice of India and the leader of the opposition.
Kashmir remained on the edge with six more persons, including a cop getting killed in violence on Sunday.
All eyes will be on the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Biju Janata Dal and the Sena itself to see which way they vote.
The video clips showed some terrorists being killed, besides destruction of bunkers and other military constructions.
'We are certainly disappointed by our inability to win a single seat in the valley... We will analyse what led to this kind of dismal -- in terms of seats -- non-performance by the BJP.' 'I certainly don't want to attribute any religious or so-called communal reasons for it; for the simple reason, that even in Ladakh, a Buddhist majority area, we failed to win seats.' BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, the man in charge of the party's election campaign in J&K, discusses the verdict with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
'More than anything else, it is pragmatism that is working out in Jammu and Kashmir. It is not a question of convenience, but getting together and understanding that no other better option can work.' 'The very fact that it has taken two months of hard negotiations obviously means that they have taken a very mature approach. This shows the seriousness of intent and statesman-like qualities that they both have displayed.'
Congress charged the entire BJP and the government with "aiding and abetting" Lalit Modi, a fugitive.
After embarrassing his own government by publicly thrashing its ordinance on convicted legislators in public, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday trained his guns at the Maharashtra government for rejecting the Adarsh Inquiry Commission report.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances