'When the prime minister and home minister promised their full support for the development of Kerala, why should we not be a part of them?'
The NC has won every assembly election in Budgam whenever it has fielded a candidate from the Shia-dominated segment. The only time the seat was not represented by the NC was in 1972 when the party had boycotted the polls across J-K.
The opposition Peoples' Democratic Party and Peoples' Conference targeted the ruling National Conference over the meeting, and accused it of surrendering to the Bharatiya Janata Party without even a pretence over the passage of the Waqf act.
A chance meeting between Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Union minister Kiren Rijiju at the Tulip Garden in Srinagar has sparked a political storm, with opposition parties accusing the National Conference of laying out a red carpet for the BJP leader in the aftermath of the Waqf Amendment Act. While NC sources termed the interaction as a purely coincidental encounter, opposition parties like the PDP and Peoples' Conference condemned the meeting, accusing the NC of surrendering to the BJP. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, passed by Parliament last week, aims to streamline the management of Waqf properties with provisions to safeguard heritage sites and promote social welfare.
Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday accused the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party of taking support from ex-militants for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and said the two parties want to take the Union territory back to its 'trouble-filled days'.
Karra, who became the J&K Congress chief last Friday replacing Vikar Rasool Wani, said a call is already there for all secular parties who are opposed to the "hegemonic attitude" of the BJP to unite.
Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP accused National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah of leaving them "no option".
National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah Tuesday asserted that there should be no "fiddling" with the mandate of people in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Centre and the Raj Bhavan must not indulge in any "machinations".
BJP members, including the Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, opposed the resolution, saying it was not part of the listed business.
'Omar Abdullah presented Delhi as a villain in front of the people of Jammu Kashmir before elections and now is shaking hands with them.'
'I am happy that the people of north Kashmir burst the bubble of Modi's naya' Kashmir'
In its attempt to clinch majority in the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly, Opposition Peoples Democratic Party is trying to make inroads in Jammu by raking up "regional discrimination" and secularism card to woo the Hindu voters of the region.
The legislature party of the PDP which met in Srinagar on Thursday afternoon unanimously chose Mehbooba Mufti as the chief ministerial candidate as also its leader.
The Congress and the National Conference on Monday announced they will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, in alliance, with both parties contesting three seats each.
Meanwhile, police did not allow journalists to gather near National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah's residence at Gupkar here, officials said.
In Srinagar, wearing black bands, scores of PDP leaders and activists, led by party president Mehbooba Mufti, took out a protest march from the party's head office near the Sher-e-Kashmir Park.
The People's Democratic Party and the National Conference -- the two Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners in Jammu and Kashmir -- will be taking on each other on the three Lok Sabha seats in the valley.
The junior Abdullah would be banking heavily on Shia support as the constituency has many Shia dominated areas that include Budgam, Beerwah, Pattan, Sonawari and Bandipora, among other pockets.
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.
The Union Home ministry has ruled out the possibility of handing over the mortal remains of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru to his family
More than 40 per cent of the 908 candidates contesting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are Independents, leading to claims that a large number of them have been propped up by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide votes.
'Everyone is unhappy with the lieutenant governor's administration, which is ignorant, high-handed, and inaccessible.'
'Who are Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti to issue certificates?'
The reorganisation bill provides for formation of Union territory of Ladakh without legislature and a separate one for Jammu and Kashmir with legislature.
The Bharatiya Janata Party said that there should not be any politics on the Supreme Court ruling and everyone should respect it.
Negotiations between the BJP and the PDP to finalise the Common Minimum Programme have intensified
Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah engaged in a war of words on Twitter after the passage of the triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha, with the latter stating that PDP leaders abstaining from voting "helped the government with the numbers needed to pass the bill."
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.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as potential kingmaker in Jammu and Kashmir, party chief Amit Shah on Tuesday did not rule out joining hands with either the People's Democratic Party or the National Conference saying "all options are open".
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
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.
Former Jammu and Kashmir CMs placed under arrest as they were considered a threat to the law-and-order situation in the state.
This comes after the agency conducted searches at his residence earlier in the day in connection with the case.
The country is all set for the second round of elections on April 18 in the ongoing seven-phase Lok Sabha polls that will elect 543 members to the lower house of Parliament. Going to polls in the second phase will be 95 seats in 12 states and one Union Territory. Here is a look at some of the big names contesting in phase two of Lok Sabha elections.
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.
The previous democratically-elected government in Bhutan sought to get cosy with China. Will the new Tshering Tobgay dispensation mend the fences with India? Shubha Singh examines
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley was on Sunday detained as he arrived at the airport here on his way to communal violence-hit Kishtwar, which was made out of bounds for political leaders by the Jammu and Kashmir government.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday launched a veiled attack on Congress leaders and said he gave sweat and blood for the party unlike those who are spreading 'falsehood' through social media.
According to the orders of the commission, set up under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019, the Union territory will have 90 assembly constituencies -- 43 in Jammu Division and 47 in Kashmir -- with nine of them being reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.
Harivansh, a Janata Dal-United MP, is likely to get the support of 126 members in the Upper House, which has an effective strength of 244 MPs, sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party said.