Under attack over release of separatist Masarat Alam in Jammu and Kashmir, government on Monday admitted to "ideological differences" between the BJP and PDPand said it is ready to make any "sacrifice" for national integrity.
With 19 border polling stations along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch, a contingency plan has been worked out to deal with cross-border shelling though chances are negligible given the ongoing ceasefire between India and Pakistan that came into effect in February 2021, officials said.
The 2 sides are trying to iron out differences over Article 370 and AFSPA.
A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
BJP deputy chief minister's post is expected to be given to state party leader Nirmal Singh
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on Thursday rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for either rolling back the special status resolution passed by the House or stepping down, and said if the party does not have faith in him it should bring a no-confidence motion.
Opposition Peoples Democratic Partyon attacked the Omar Abdullah government for the incident of firing by security forces in Baramulla in which one youth was killed, and staged walkout from Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
Once a trusted lieutenant of the former National Conference president Omar Abdullah and his political advisor during his tenure as chief minister, Rana holds considerable sway among Muslims, particularly the Gujjar community in Jammu.
Lashing out at Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, Rashid on Wednesday alleged that they have "destroyed" Kashmir.
"We will go to any extent to protect Article 35A," said Mufti.
In the petition, Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra's counsel Shariq Reyaz submitted that his client was investigated for the same offences by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as well as the Counter Intelligence (Kashmir) wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police separately, which is in violation of laid down norms under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The People's Democratic Party, the main Opposition party in J&K, on Tuesday welcomed the fresh initiative unveiled by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to address unrest in Kashmir hoping it will be a "critical step" forward to usher in lasting peace in the valley.
Asserting that statement of the Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is "insult" to the House and people of Jammu and Kashmir, Opposition PDP announced a boycott of the remaining budget session of the state Assembly.
The Army cancelled the event "due to implementation of the Model Code of Conduct".
The Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party seem to be nearing an agreement to form a government in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said on Friday.
Opposition Peoples Democratic Party, which stayed away from the earlier all-party meetings on Kashmir crisis, on Tuesday said it will attend the meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday to discuss the unrest in the Valley.
With political stalemate continuing in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference's working president Omar Abdullah on Monday held a meeting with top party leaders where it was decided that it will have no tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party but was ready to support the Peoples Democratic Party in the government-formation.
The BJP has emerged the second largest party by winning 29 constituencies in the maiden assembly polls post abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, improving its all-time high tally of 25 seats recorded in 2014 elections.
She said on one hand, giant hoardings calling upon Kashmiris to "celebrate" the abrogation of Article 370 have been put up across Srinagar, whereas "brute force is being used to choke the actual sentiment of the people".
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made a fresh appeal to the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party to attend the all party meet on Monday to discuss the present situation in the Kashmir valley.
Projecting BJP as a fresh option in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said Congress "sneaks" into every government that is formed in the state but attacks these dispensations just before elections.
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'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party termed Mufti's temple visit a "political gimmick."
People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday hit back at Home Minister P Chidambaram, who had warned the party of stern action over its controversial propaganda map.
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 row broke out after a private television news agency attributed the excerpts of the article shared by the NC leader to him.
There is a limit to ignoring genuine aspirations of the people and suppressing their legitimate voice in running the affairs of the state, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
A People's Democratic Party member of Legislative Assembly has stoked controversy by saying that only a Muslim can become the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, a view from which his party quickly distanced itself.
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.
Putting an end to speculations on government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on Saturday said "track two" dialogue with the Bharatiya Janata Party is in progress.
'There is a huge wait in Kashmir for compassion from the prime minister of India.'
A day after the Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government assumed power in Jammu and Kashmir, a group of lawmakers from the Kashmiri party demanded that the mortal remains of Parliament attack convict be handed over to the family.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday urged the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh to convene a round table conference to start the dialogue process.
PDP pitched for revocation of AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir, saying there is "tangible improvement" in the security situation.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first elected government in the Union Territory since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated.
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".
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.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party has expressed grief over the death of Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah, who was fatally attacked by another inmate in the high-security Kotbalwal jail in Jammu last week.
'With all outlets of public expression virtually choked for the last five years, suppressed anger and frustration is looking for an opening via the ballot box.' 'There is no escape from the inevitability of the 'Engineer Rashid' factor surfacing in a big enough way to upset everyone's applecart,' alerts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
People's Democratic Party on Sunday threatened to reconsider its participation in the all-party initiative of the Centre, accusing the Jammu and Kashmir government of sabotaging the visit of the delegation by clamping curfew in the Valley.
