In a remarkable display of resilience and commitment to democracy, the residents of villages that had long been deprived of polling due to terrorist threats and separatist-sponsored boycott calls turned out in large numbers to cast ballots in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls on Saturday.
For the last four years since abrogation of Article 370, Kashmir-based political parties have been struggling to forge an alternate narrative to the one forcibly snatched from them. The BJP is bound to go hammer and tongs at them now that their armoury is reinforced with the Supreme Court judgment, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'In the case of a road accident, prevention is the only answer.' 'There's no cure to death or disability when the accident happens, and when it's due to reckless or negligent driving, it's worse because it's avoidable.'
After inaugurating development projects worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore for boosting the agri-economy in the Union territory, Modi said he was "elated to be among the wonderful people of Srinagar".
The Lok Sabha secretariat on Wednesday restored the membership of Nationalist Congress Party leader P P Mohammed Faizal, who was disqualified from the lower house in January following his conviction in a criminal case with a 10-year jail term.
In its election manifesto -- 'Sankalp Patra' -- the Bharatiya Janata Party has vowed to implement the Union Civil Code (UCC), maintain peace in the Northeast, among other key poll promises.
A voter turnout of 60.19 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in 93 constituencies spread over 11 states and Union Territories on Tuesday with sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal.
Voting was underway on Friday in 102 Lok Sabha seats spread across 21 states and Union territories in the first of the seven phases of the world's largest electoral exercise, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging voters to exercise their franchise in record numbers.
In addition, 22,533 'Make in India' ventilators have been delivered to various states, Union territories and central institutions, the ministry said, adding that the Centre is also ensuring the installation and commissioning of the machines.
Ten sensitive installations in six states and one Union territory have been declared out of bounds for the general public, with the Centre saying any information with respect to certain activities carried out at these premises may be useful to India's enemies.
Twenty-two cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected in the country till Thursday, with 21 cases being reported from Goa and another from Kerala, official sources said.
'Article 370 offered very important protections that were related to people's day to day lives.'
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Manoj Sonkar on Tuesday defeated Aam Aadmi Party's Kuldeep Kumar to win the post of mayor in the Chandigarh mayoral polls.
With the completion of this third extension, Rajiv Gauba will become the longest serving cabinet secretary of the country. Till now, B D Pande had been the longest serving cabinet secretary from November 2, 1972, to March 31, 1977.
Section 6A, which was incorporated in the Citizenship Act 1955 following the signing of the 1985 Assam Accord, was upheld by the Supreme Court.
Many individual states experienced higher inflation than the all-India figures during the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). Retail inflation figures in Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have been higher than national numbers every month of this financial year, shows a Business Standard analysis of state-wise figures, after the March inflation data was released on Friday. Experts noted that persistent high food inflation along with differences in the weights of rural and urban indices plays into the regional variation in inflation rates.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after New Delhi abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019. India's decision evoked strong reactions from Pakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian envoy.
China on Thursday voiced its opposition to India's reported plans to hold the next year's meeting of G-20 leaders in Jammu and Kashmir.
"To make sure there isn't a Covid surge in the country, PM Modi has asked us to be careful. The government is also preparing if at the Covid cases increase. Today, mock drills are conducted across Covid hospitals in the country to make sure people get proper treatment," Mandaviya said.
The government on Wednesday issued a gazette notification announcing a slew of amendments to 138 Acts of Jammu and Kashmir that included protecting jobs up to Group-4 for only those who are domiciles of the Union territory. The notification said among the laws amended is the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralisation and Recruitment) Act.
The government has approved the 'Terms of Reference' for the 16 Finance Commission, which makes recommendations on sharing of tax revenues between the Centre and states. The recommendations would cover a five-year period commencing April 1, 2026, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday, giving details about the decisions taken at the Cabinet meeting last evening. The commission would submit its report by October 31, 2025, Thakur said.
Addressing a joint press conference in New Delhi, All India Congress Committee general secretary organisation K C Venugopal and AICC general secretary, communications Jairam Ramesh, said the Bharat Jodo Yatra has so far covered 3,122 km from Gandhi Mandapam in Kanyakumari to the Red Fort in Delhi.
A sneak preview of the dancers and tableaux who India will see on Kartavya Path on Republic Day 2023.
His government's decision to host G-20 events across the country is an investment in capacity-building among people, cities and institutions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, as he took a jibe at previous governments asserting they lacked confidence in people's abilities to hold mega events outside the capital, in smaller places.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister alleged that government employees were 'forcibly mobilised' and ferried to Modi's rally to paint a 'pretty picture that all is well' post 2019, when the Centre abrogated the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the erstwhile state into Union territories.
Lakhs of voters will have to bear the searing heat when they step out to exercise their franchise in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday.
The home ministry has sought strict implementation of the guidelines in all parts of the country to contain the spread of COVID-19.
To ensure seamless transfer of personal vehicles across states, the road transport ministry has come up with a new registration mark for new vehicles -- Bharat Series (BH-series).
Adding petrol and diesel to GST was a challenging task due to their significant role as revenue generators for both the central and state governments.
68% of Indians plan to travel domestically in 2022, with over a fifth (21%) anticipating travelling domestically within one month of covid restrictions easing.
Imad Nazir, a spirited, specially-abled nine year old from Kulgam district, is making waves with his ability to play India's favourite sport.
With Christmas and the New Year approaching, doctors at some hospitals in the city also referred to the detection of the first case of the new JN.1 variant of the coronavirus in the country and asked people to exercise extra caution.
The bench said that it has to be in exceptional circumstances when the conviction needs to be stayed and it cannot be a norm.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed his desire for peaceful relations with India based on the principles of 'equity, justice and mutual respect' and the resolution of the Kashmir issue, according to a media report on Friday.
Besides the national capital, polling will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir. Simultaneously, polling will be held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium is closely tracking the new variant of COVID-19 called B.1.1.529 and its presence has not been detected in the country yet, officials said on Friday.
Ghulam Nabi Azad remarked that the figures are not high enough to know whether the people are happy or angry with the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, Mehbooba Mufti said it is a message that the people have not accepted the Centre's decisions.
'It is advisable to stay away from the markets for now and buy only on a dip.'
Priyanka Gandhi in large part was at the centre of the Congress's action, giving a number of enduring images from this election campaign.
Had it not been for the slow but sure emergence of China as a threat to the western order, would India have been accepted as a near-equal partner by individual western nations, jointly and severally, questions N Sathiya Moorthy.
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