Former Union minister Farooq Abdullah on Thursday said India will not be able to keep Kashmir if the forces who see Muslims of the country with suspicion and pit the minority community against the majority are not reined in.
Union Minister Farooq Abdulla on Monday said there was a "massive" public opinion in favour of revoking the Armed Forces Special Powers Act but maintained that all the stakeholders should discuss the issue and take a collective decision.
In a significant political development, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced on Thursday that an alliance with the Congress was finalised for all 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, which is going for its maiden assembly polls after being reorganised into a Union Territory.
The Union Council of Ministers was expanded on Thursday with the induction of 59 ministers
Gupkar Alliance, which includes mainstream political parties of Jammu and Kashmir, has accepted the invitation of the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24.
The administration of the union territory as directed by the Jammu and Kashmir high court to make public land given under the controversial Roshni land scheme, since scrapped by a court, came out with the list of beneficiaries.
The new faces in the state cabinet include former Indian cricketer Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Shovandeb Chattopadhaya, Kolkata Mayor Shovan Chatterjee, Abani Mohan Joarder, Abdur Rezzak Mollah, Suvendu Adhikari, Rabindranath Ghosh, Churamani Mahato, James Kujur, Siddikullah Choudhury, Asima Patra, Ghulam Rabbani, Zakir Hossain, Sandhya Rani Tudu, singer Indranil Sen, Tapan Dasgupta and B Hansda.
"Azad saab (Ghulam Nabi Azad) had spoken on behalf of all of us that we don't accept this timeline -- we don't accept delimitation, election, statehood, we want delimitation, statehood and then election. If you want to hold polls, you'll have to restore statehood first," said Omar Abdullah.
Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has demanded the resignations of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his father, union minister Dr Farooq Abdullah.
The first meeting of the Group of Ministers on inclusion of caste categories in the census is likely to be held on July 1.
The announcement came after PAGD leaders met at Abdullah's Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar to discuss the Centre's invitation.
'My request to Amit Shah would be "Please do not use archaic laws and muscle power against voices that have always stood by India.".'
The veteran leader was cremated at his native Bhugterian village amid "Bhim Singh amar rahe" slogans.
The mortal remains of former Union Minister Arun Nehru, who died in News Delhi on Thursday night, were consigned to flames on Friday in the presence of his relatives, including family of his cousin Rajiv Gandhi, and a host of leaders.
A day after India opened up vaccination for those over 60 years and within the age bracket of 45 to 59 years with specified co-morbidities, more politicians took the vaccine jabs on Tuesday, including Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who, along with his wife, took the first dose of indigenously developed Covaxin at the Delhi Heart and Lung Institute.
A day into the Copenhagen climate change meetings, the Union ministry of new and renewable energy has indicated that it has no definite roadmap to implement its ambitious target of 20,000 MW of solar power by 2022.
"They (those who celebrated the win) don't have anything to do with them (Pakistanis)... It was done to provoke the BJP. They were children and young boys and this should serve as an eye-opener for the BJP," Abdullah said at a public meeting in Surankote in Poonch district.
Chief minister-designate Omar Abdullah met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to present letters of support from coalition partners, shortly after the Congress officially extended its backing to the party.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has said that the government has offered to rebuild Dustgeer Sahib, the Sufi shrine that was destroyed in a massive fire this week. He was addressing the media at Shastri Bhavan in New Delhi in his monthly meeting.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said that the 'unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives' of the people of Jammu and Kashmir after prominent leaders from ruling and opposition parties were not allowed to leave their houses to prevent them from visiting the graveyard of 1931 martyrs in Srinagar.
Union Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah today ruled out quitting the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre over hanging of Afzal Guru, an issue on which Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had made some strong statements.
'INDIA will easily cross 50 seats out of 90 in Jammu and Kashmir.'
This management team will coordinate with all state units of the BJP and its allies for the presidential election and is also expected to guide its elected voting representatives on the voting process.
Opposition presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha on Monday filed his nomination papers for the July 18 election, with a host of leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav and Farooq Abdullah accompanying him.
If Jammu and Kashmir comes under Governor's rule, it will be for the eighth time in four decades.
"India cannot be run on the basis of one religion. And there is more threat from the enemy within. We know about the enemy which is outside," Abdullah said.
Sources said that Abdullah has now been detained under the stringent Public Safety Act
An editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana also asked what has changed in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, and said 'Hindutva means nationalism'.
'Why have we failed to address the issue of ensuring a requisite buffer zone in J&K, given that cross-border links of some J&K politicians are known?', asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Sonia stated that it was not surprising that people would back one of their own, said Tharoor.
The ruling National Conference President and Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah on Thursday asked his party spokesman Dr Mustaffa Kamal "to exercise restraint and follow the party policy line on all issues, particularly those pertaining to the policies of the coalition government, relationship with the Congress party, Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the role of the army".
Telecom major Airtel has decided against renewing the title sponsorship contract with the BCCI for India's international matches at home leading to the Board calling a marketing committee meeting in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Shri Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti on Saturday said it is ready to meet Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil "individually" or selected members of the all-party delegation, but will boycott National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti and Union Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz.
The first-ever district development council (DDC) elections will be held in eight phases to elect 280 members in 20 districts from November 28 to December 22.
Saddam, a businessman, is the eldest among the two siblings. He has studied in England. Sofiya Nabi Azad, his sister, has studied journalism.
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.
Malik had served as the 18th governor of Goa between November 3, 2019, and August 18, 2020.
Restrictions under Section 144 CrPc have been imposed in few areas of the valley to maintain law and order, the officials said.
The Election Commission will hold biennial elections on February 13 to seven Rajya Sabha seats, including those held by Union Ministers Vayalar Ravi and Saif-ud-Din Soz as also National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah. Elections would be held for four seats in Jammu and Kashmir and three in Kerala.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concerns about the Congress party's leadership role within the INDIA bloc, raising questions about their ability to justify their position. Abdullah highlighted a sense of disquiet among some allies, who feel the Congress isn't doing enough to earn its leadership position. While praising Sonia Gandhi's leadership, he also criticized the alliance's lack of consistent engagement and called for more structured communication to address potential disagreements. Abdullah's comments suggest underlying tensions within the opposition alliance, particularly regarding the Congress's electoral performance and seat distribution strategies.
