If Mehbooba is 'allowed' to survive unchecked she could transform her campaign into a sentiment typically suited to the ground conditions in Kashmir, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
"(Former PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee said 'raj dharma' was not followed in Gujarat (during the 2002 riots). Now, 'raj dharma' is not being followed in case of Andhra Pradesh. We have been denied what was rightfully ours," he claimed.
The state government last week announced the schedule for holding elections to local bodies and panchayats in the state.
Dozens of vehicles, with the tricolor hoisted on each of them, were part of the rally which passed through Gupkar Road and the activists raised slogans outside the residences of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti there.
'The politicians waiting to grab the space left behind by Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti do not have any credentials,' says Athar Parvaiz.
The outgoing Lok Sabha had 23 Muslim MPs, the most being from Congress and TMC. The highest number of Muslim MPs were in 1980 when as many as 49 MPs from the community which constitute nearly fifth of Indian population present in the Lok Sabha.
'Toll system can never end though the rates may vary from time to time. Toll is my brain child'
'This election was the first opportunity where Kashmiris told the world they do not agree with the Centre's policies and are unhappy about their disempowerment.'
'Engagement should never stop.' 'Reassure Kashmiris that they will be treated at par with the rest of India.' 'The peace you crave will be peace with honour.' 'Your special status will not be tinkered with.'
NSG commandos, who guard some of the most high-risk VVIPs in the country, are set to sharpen their skills in this domain with the elite force asking the Special Protection Group to audit its performance and share expertise in better securing its protectees.
In a deviation from the usual venue of Raj Bhavan, the event of May 27, will be held on the Red Road, one of the arterial roads in Kolkata that houses the Fort William where the Army is headquartered. And, it will remain blocked for at least five days, probably more.
With the Modi government battling propriety issues over the Lalit Modi row and the furore on Vyapam scam, leaders of "like-minded" parties will meet for Congress president Sonia Gandhi's Iftar dinner on Monday where they are likely to deliberate on the strategy for Parliament session beginning July 21.
'The root of the Kashmir problem lies in Partition. To solve the issue, we have to begin from there and settle it forever.'
Verdicts paving the way for construction of a Ram Temple at Ayodhya and India's multi-billion dollar Rafale fighter jet deal with France were 2019's landmark imprints of the Supreme Court, which also found itself at the centre of a controversy with then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi being accused of sexual harassment before getting the clean chit.
This is the fifth time that Nitish will be the chief minister of Bihar and this will be his third consecutive term.
'If the virulence of COVID-19 has muted the toxicity of the BJP's communalism, it will be an example of good coming out of the pandemic,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
Gandhi also took a potshot at the RSS, saying it was bent on changing the country's Constitution.
The Minister assured the House that security requirement of the Election Commission will be met for free and fair assembly election in the state.
Governor's rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday after political parties failed to muster the requisite number in the 87-member assembly for staking claim to form the government.
Political observers say Banerjee is fast emerging as the face of the Opposition and would be a force to reckon with in the next general elections in 2019.
'Knowing him personally, I can safely say that the usually soft-spoken, qualified medical doctor would not have said what he was 'caught' saying if only he had realised that he was stepping on a political landmine across the emotional LoC, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
With almost all opposition parties too backing the 'Bharat bandh' and many announcing parallel protests in support of the farmers, the Centre has issued an advisory directing the states and Union Territories to tighten security and ensure peace is maintained.
The Congress-led grouping has some reasons to feel emboldened over recent political developments.
Mamata Banerjee was on Friday sworn in as the chief minister of West Bengal for the second consecutive time, heading a 42-member ministry.
'1998-1999 was the only year in the last quarter century that India had net-negative foreign investment.' 'Foreign money ran away from India that year because capital is a coward and does not like uncertainty of the sort produced by such casual treatment of a destructive technology,' says Aakar Patel.
Officials said there was no discussion on constituting a delimitation commission.
The suspended Rajya Sabha parliamentarians, who spent the night on the lawns near Mahatma Gandhi's statue in what several old-timers said was the first such overnight protest in the complex, got a surprise visitor in the morning -- Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh who came with tea and snacks.
'When those who took oath in the name of the Indian Constitution are not acceptable, where do the other Kashmiris stand?'
Most of the parties supported 'one nation one election', says defence minister Rajnath Singh.
The year 2015 was a mixed bag for the Grand Old party --with the performance in Bihar being a consolation while the the National Herald case came back to haunt its leadership.
'Being authoritative is one thing -- Nehru was that -- but being authoritarian is quite another -- the current prime minister is clearly one.'
Rahul Gandhi on Thursday conceded the words he had chosen to trash the ordinance on convicted lawmakers might have been wrong but not his sentiment.
Shah said that the people of the country will decide about the principal opposition party to BJP in the 2024 polls and they have not given this label to any party.
In an interview to ANI, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke on various issues, including the Balakot air strikes to the status of Kashmir to the party's manifesto.
The Opposition is putting up a symbolic fight for the presidential polls as it knows that the BJP has the numbers to get its candidate elected to the top post.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Union ministers, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and various other top leaders have condoled Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's demise and paid glowing tributes to her.
"The people, who were in power earlier, now are suddenly taking U-turn. They are making such statements shamelessly," he added.
'Some of his decisions were not so good, but his intentions were always guided by a deep national interest.'
'As of now, this one move seems to have precariously altered the balance of forces on the volatile ground, between separatists and the mainstream. 'The landscape today presents a fearsome picture of the future of mainstream politics in Kashmir. 'Conversely, the separatist ideology looks to have got an unearned boost,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs
