Nearly two years after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two UTs and revocation of its special status, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held talks with top political leaders from the erstwhile state, and said the Centre's priority is to strengthen grassroots democracy there for which delimitation has to happen quickly so that polls can be held.
A private school teacher in Rajasthan's Udaipur was arrested on Wednesday while three engineering students from Kashmir were held in Agra in Uttar Pradesh for posting messages on WhatsApp celebrating Pakistan's victory over India in the T20 World Cup cricket match three days ago.
'If there is any possibility, then the BJP has to accept our conditions. There should be caste census in the country, the report of the social justice committee should be implemented, the CM should be from backward caste and also the poor must be provided a uniform, mandatory and free education as well as free medical treatment.'
"I will put the suggestion before the prime minister for free flow and use of Indian and Pakistani currencies in J&K and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in line with the proposal of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and in the pattern of European model," Sayeed said in Jammu.
Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time on February 27 after which a swearing-in ceremony is likely to be held on March 1, two months after the results for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls were announced.
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."
People's Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was on Sunday sworn-in as the 12th chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
The police on Tuesday said businessman Mohammad Altaf Bhat was killed in the "cross-firing" between militants and security forces at Hyderpora on Monday, but he would be counted as a "harbourer of terrorists" as he did not inform authorities about the tenants in his building.
The PDP said the party will take a call on government formation in the state as and when it is confident that it can fulfill the vision and mission of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Government formation in Jammu and Kashmir remains a puzzle with the Bharatiya Janata Party looking for a partner among the state's mainstream parties but the National Conference has virtually ruled out a tie up with the saffron party.
Malik believes he can solve the problems of farmers and is sending signals to the government to give him a chance.
Users well-versed in privacy laws or those concerned with their data would be worried; it could well be that many of us have already accepted the end user agreement without ado, points out Ashish Narsale.
The PDP chief visited New Delhi on Monday and has reportedly called a meeting of party legislators to brief them about her talks with BJP leaders.
Controversial People's Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasser Madani has been named as an accused in the Bengaluru bomb blast case.The charge-sheet in the case, filed by the Karnataka police recently, mentions six accused. Four of them are in custody and the other two, including Madani, have been declared 'absconding'.The other accused mentioned in the charge-sheet include suspected terrorist T Nasir, Sarfraz Nawaz and Shafaz Shamsuddin.
The entry to the graveyard inside Naqshband sahib Shrine in Khawaja Bazaar near Nowhatta was sealed and security forces were deployed around the area to prevent anyone going inside, officials said.
"I have been brought here forcibly from my rented room in Rambagh (area of the city)," Manoj Kumar, a labourer from Bihar, said.
Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir, said Rahul.
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.
The ruling People's Democratic Party on Tuesday welcomed the "historic peace accord" between the Centre and Nagaland's National Socialist Council of Nagaland-IM, saying a similar approach was needed in Kashmir and suggested that the four-point formula propounded by former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf could be used as a 'launching pad'.
Nineteen candidates saw an extremely close contest in the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu and Kashmir where the margin of victory was less than 100.
Nine seats have been proposed for STs and seven for SCs in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said. This is the first time that seats have been proposed for STs in Jammu and Kashmir, they said.
Expelled BJP ideologue Prof Hari Om speaks to Pervez Majeed.
After meeting J&K Governor NN Vohra to stake a claim to form a new government in the state, PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday thanked the BJP for extending unconditional support.
The NC leader urged both India and Pakistan to resume their dialogue "for everyone's greater good".
Asserting that all options are open for government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Party state president Jugal Kishore on Monday said his party would not form an alliance in haste as they want a stable government which would last for 6 years.
Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Ram Madhav on Friday said his party was holding consultations with all important stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir for providing a stable government.
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.
"Okay. Good," a bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said when the counsel of Union Territory administration and Iltija informed it about the release of Mufti, who is the president of the PDP.
'Her tussle is a different ballgame from what it was when Farooq Abdullah and Rajiv Gandhi were the main players at the two ends of the power game.' 'The shadow of the party in power in New Delhi over J&K affairs in 1987 was not as menacing as it is in 2018,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the doyen of Kashmir commentators.
Besides Azad, two PDP and one BJP candidate won.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's recent announcement on limited withdrawal of the Disturbed Areas Act from Jammu and Kashmir has led to "utter confusion" and its price is being paid by ordinary civilians, People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti alleged.
Taking a dig at the Peoples' Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Monday that opposition in the state is nervous and worried as they were finding it difficult to cope up with the fact that they were out of power.
The state government last week announced the schedule for holding elections to local bodies and panchayats in the state.
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 ultras fired upon advocate Babar Qadri at his Hawal residence around 6.25 pm from close range before fleeing the spot, a police official said.
Despite the growing clamour from the central government on India turning digital, and banks requesting direct bank account transfer, the state government decided to hand over cheques to the farmers, which can be immediately converted into cash.
Omar also said he would never prefer horse trading to end the stalemate.
Invoking Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi, the Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday appeared to be giving clear signals that it may not be averse to discussions on government formation with the Bharatiya Janata Party, which welcomed the gesture.
The major shake-up of the council of ministers -- including six of the BJP and two of the PDP -- follows BJP ministers Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga resigning from the cabinet earlier this month after they were criticised for taking part in a rally in support of those accused in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua.
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