West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, was conspicuous by her absence at the event, which was attended by tens of thousands of people as the Congress sought to promote opposition unity.
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.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's message is loud and clear that anyone acting against the unity, sovereignty, and integrity of the nation will not be spared and face the full wrath of the law.
Restoration of peace and the normal routine of daily life, compared to the past, stands out as its most significant achievement, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs, four years after the abrogation of Article 370.
Several politicians, including the former J-K chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, have condemned the action by police, alleging that it will disaffect the youths with such an extreme punishment.
Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said she will be joining the Kashmir leg of the "Bharat Jodo Yatra" spearheaded by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The incident took place at Tumchi Nowpora of Pulwama district in South Kashmir when the labourer, Mukesh Kumar, was in the market to buy some vegetables.
Sibal tweeted, "PM: Opposition afraid...all corrupt now on one platform. But Modiji: Shiv Sena, Akali Dal, JDU, PDP, BSP, were all your allies at one time and you formed government with them!"
BJP spokesperson Khalid Jehangir, in his stern message, warned the extremists not to threaten any Kashmiri.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has sacked three employees, including the Kashmir University public relations officer, for allegedly working with Pakistan-based militant outfits, raising finances for them and propagating their ideology, officials said on Monday.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday announced compensation and jobs to the kin of the three civilians who were found dead in Poonch district as a massive search operation was underway to track down terrorists behind the recent ambush on two Army vehicles that left five soldiers dead.
The alliance adopted a resolution to this effect and said its theme for the elections will be "Judega Bharat, Jeetega India, (India will unite, India will win)".
Vikramaditya Singh had joined the PDP in August 2015 and was a member of the state Legislative Council.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who heads a faction of the Shiv Sena, on Thursday said his party has immense respect for V D Savarkar and he does not approve of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks on the freedom fighter.
She said the encounter in Jammu's Sidhra area in the morning, where four terrorists were killed, belied the government claims of uprooting terrorism in J and K.
Was the decision taken by the Centre on August 5, 2019 to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which bestowed a special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, constitutionally valid? The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce its verdict on Monday on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370.
Mufti was served an eviction notice for her 'Fairview' residence at the high security Gupkar area of the city here last month as well.
Azad said it will affect all religions.
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.
At least four Opposition leaders on Tuesday claimed to have received messages from Apple warning them of "State-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise" their iPhones and posted the purported screenshots on their X handles.
An Army colonel commanding a battalion, a major and a Jammu and Kashmir deputy superintendent of police were killed in a gunfight with terrorists in the higher reaches of Kokorenag area in the valley while one soldier was missing, officials said on Wednesday.
Singh was under investigation by the federal agency as part of the case lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against an educational trust run by his wife and former legislator Kanta Andotra, they said.
Mufti said the fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution and guaranteed to all Indian citizens "are being brazenly impinged upon".
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has been served a notice to vacate her official bungalow in the high-security Gupkar area in Srinagar.
A day after he was shot dead by terrorists, Kashmiri Pandit bank guard Sanjay Sharma was cremated in his native village in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Monday, with his Muslim neighbours lending a helping hand to his grief-stricken family.
All political parties were asked at the dinner meeting on Monday night to suggest names for the alliance and the same would be discussed and consensus would be arrived at during the deliberations.
The opposition alliance INDIA on Thursday announced that it will boycott shows of 14 television anchors on several platforms, a decision the Bharatiya Janata Party compared with the Emergency.
Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attended the swearing in ceremony, while former AICC President Sonia Gandhi was absent. Chief Ministers of Congress ruled states Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Sukhvinder Singh Sukku (Himachal Pradesh) and several top party leaders were also in attendance.
In an emphatic victory for the Modi government, the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld its decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution that bestowed special status upon the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, ordered restoration of statehood "at the earliest" and set a September 30, 2024, deadline for holding the assembly elections.
'We have got together to save the democracy, Constitution and brotherhood. The country's constitutional institutions are being misused and the country's wealth is being sold out'
Parties like the NC and Peoples Democratic Party claimed the administration has not addressed their main concern on whether ''outsiders'' ordinarily residing in J-K will be allowed to enroll as voters.
Most leaders agreed for early finalisation of poll plans for 2024 stressing that there was no time left with them and mere meetings would not help.
This comes after the agency conducted searches at his residence earlier in the day in connection with the case.
Despite heavy snowfall in Srinagar, the rally to mark the culmination of Bharat Jodo Yatra went ahead, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other prominent leaders of opposition parties addressing the march.
The area has been cordoned off and a hunt launched to nab the attackers.
The padyatra concluded at the Lal Chowk area on Sunday with Rahul Gandhi unfurling the national flag but the official closing would take place on Monday in Srinagar, amid snowfall.
Mufti said the Bharat Jodo Yatra was like a breath of fresh air in Kashmir as it allowed people to come out of their homes in numbers for the first time since 2019.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said the Centre's "callous policies" have led to target killings of Kashmiri Pandits.
Responding to a question, Abdullah said elections can be held whenever the government wants.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has claimed Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had come to his residence and cried that he will be arrested by a central agency if he did not switch over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), before revolting against the Sena leadership.
