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.
At least 17 highly qualified teachers of two government schools failed to answer even basic questions posed by the Deputy Commissioner of Udhampur district in Jammu and Kashmir, prompting him to initiate an education audit of the schools.
Word from the BJP is that following the controversy over his comments on Article 370, Jitendra Singh has been asked to desist from talking about his favourite topics and focus instead on the business of governance and the sizeable portfolios that he has been entrusted with, writes Archis Mohan.
Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is contesting first election of his political career, was up for a surprise on Thursday as he was asked by a polling officer in Jammu to prove his identity to cast vote after the senior Congress leader failed to furnish his voter card.
The deceased jawan was identified as 20-year-old Sepoy Mustapure Shubham Suryakant, a resident of Konerwadi village in Parbhani district of Maharashtra.
The arrested terrorist was identified as Sajjad Ahmed, 22, from Muzaffargarh in south-west Pakistan, the army said.
Militants have been attacking the Ind post in Udhampur district ever since security forces gunned down a Hizbul Mujahideen 'divisional commander' Amanullah Pir in March.
Four militants each were shot dead in Poonch, Baramulla and Lolab, three in Kupwara and two in Udhampur, a defence spokesman said.
"It's an unfortunate incident. The BSF convoy was attacked on the national highway by terrorists who fired at it from the by-lanes near Bijbehara," Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police K Rajendra said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on whom BJP is banking heavily, will hit the campaign trail in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday when he addresses a public rally in Kishtwar, 4 days ahead of the first phase of balloting for the Assembly elections in the state.
In the second phase on April 18, 97 seats,spread across 13 states and one Union Territory, will go to the polls.
Stressing that Himalayan states have similar sets of problems and opportunities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday proposed a "common model" for the their development.
The Pune-bound train derailed at 3:10 am, injuring three passengers.
Five people, including a minor girl, died and as many injured in separate incidents during heavy rains in Kullu, Kangra and Chamba districts of Himachal Pradesh.
Political parties held protests against the ban on April 7 as well as Wednesday.
In Delhi and Chandigarh visibility was reduced to 600 metres affecting the normal movements of vehicles.
In an email to PTI, the economist said he was informed of his name being dropped from the panel of speakers at the conference two days ago.
Smriti Irani will reprise her electoral battle with Rahul Gandhi from Amethi.
Among other things, he will present the President's colour to the Jammu and Kashmir Police in recognition of their over-a-decade-long valiant fight against militancy.
The tunnel, bypassing snow-bound upper reaches, will reduce the journey time by two hours and provide a safe, all-weather route to commuters travelling from Jammu and Udhampur to Ramban, Banihal and Srinagar.
Stepping up his election campaign, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will address 185 rallies across the country from March 26.
"The state government should take a fresh look at its policies and approaches so as to see the drawbacks which resulted in the recent attacks," Union Minister of State for Defence Chaman Lal Gupta said on Tuesday night.
With flood waters receding, the armed forces have stepped up its rescue operations in Jammu and Kashmir
The government has no proposal to repeal Article 370 of the Constitution that grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir is on the rise, with nearly 100 terrorists sneaking into the Valley this year from across the Line of Control taking routes, including those chosen by Pakistani raiders in 1947, to move towards south, which has emerged as the epicentre of militancy.
The bypoll assumes significance as Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is seeking her election to the assembly from the constituency.
Sinha said there has been an increase in terror... not only the incident in Udhampur and Gurdaspur there has been a spate of terror attacks and even today there have been terror attacks in which policemen have been killed.
Six intrepid mobike riders undertake a journey from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in support of the armed forces.
'The standing committee on defence was flagging what the services had said.' 'As a soldier, General Khanduri might have felt that it was his duty to point this out in the greater good of India,' points out Aditi Phadnis.
The ruling National Conference-Congress coalition in Jammu and Kashmir received a severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections as the coalition could not win even a single seat of the 6 in the state.
The Pampore attack 'has the stamp of LeT written all over it.'
'They are exactly like the so-called fidayeen of the 1999-2003 phase, when J&K witnessed a surge in suicide attacks on various important garrisons,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), who served as the General Officer Commanding 15 Corps in Kashmir.
'China would rather tie us down; and bleed us as much as it can so that we aren't able to lift our heads to face them.'
Fresh protests against arrests in connection with the Kishtwar communal-strife on Tuesday rocked Jammu, Aknoor, Ramnagar and Samba areas even as curfew was relaxed in several towns of the Jammu region.
The 300-km long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway continued to remain closed for traffic for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday due to landslides triggered by heavy rains, leaving over 700 Kashmir-bound trucks and light passenger vehicles stranded.
The flood threat in Kashmir eased on Friday as overnight rainfall, which had led to slight rise in water level of River Jhelum, stopped.
At the largest international stage -- the UN General Assembly-- External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sent out a stern message to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, saying, "Talks and terror cannot go together".
Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami, a Special Forces commando of the army who laid down his life while battling militants in Handwara on Thursday, had eliminated 10 terrorists in a short span of 11 days before making the supreme sacrifice in Kashmir.
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