The Centre is planning a series of political initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir which may include discussion with mainstream parties of the Union Territory and elections to the assembly in the early part of next year, officials said in New Delhi.
The political script for pre-2019 politics has gone with the wind and the writers of the new script seem in no great hurry to oblige the tormented, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Jammu and Kashmir is likely to get around 25 lakh additional voters including outsiders after the special summary revision of electoral rolls being held for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370, an official said on Wednesday.
'The Election Commission is in the process of updating electoral rolls.' 'Once that is done, the dates for elections will be announced by the ECI at an appropriate time.' 'What can be more democratic than this?'
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 talks will focus on 'delimitation of the border, boundary management and a host of bilateral and international issues'.
'We feel that till the time statehood is not restored power sector should not be touched in J-K.'
His statement comes two days after the Congress Working Committee deplored the manner in which the government stripped J&K of its special status by scrapping provisions of Article 370, and bifurcated the state.
'For the government, statehood is one of the end-points of the journey. A vast distance has to be traversed to reach there. There are many turns on the road, some resting points, and possibly, many cul-de-sacs.'
President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday appointed Chandra as 24th CEC on Monday.
At its Jaipur meeting, the BJP will focus on this year's assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh while the Congress's Chintan Shivir in Udaipur will discuss how it can resurrect itself.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in all-party meeting on Jammu and Kashmir, on Wednesday said that his government is fully committed to the 'democratic process' in the region and holding the assembly elections is a priority, sources said.
The high table might have yielded relief at personal levels, but its political implications look forbidding at this point in time, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Most of the 40 MLAs in the Shinde camp don't have enough legislative experience to conduct business in the House and so the first ministry expansion needed induction of veterans.
The next general elections will be held in constituencies redrawn by the delimitation exercise, as per a decision taken by the Union Cabinet on Thursday. The Cabinet adopted an ordinance to defer the delimitation exercise in Jharkhand and four north eastern states-- Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh
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.
Ahir said he had no grudge against the NCP. "But some unavoidable political decisions had to be taken considering the prevailing situation," he said.
It is expected to be completed in around 22 months from the start of construction work. The new building will come up on plot number 118 of the Parliament House Estate.
'Non-separation of religion from politics is India's most daunting challenge'
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Monday said assembly elections should be held only after restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government to honour its commitment made on the floor of Parliament.
In the Act, "Administrator" became "Adminstrator'', "article" became "artcle'', "territories'' became "Tterritories'', "Shariat" became "Shariet'' and "Safai Karamcharis" became "Safaikaramcharis".
With no agenda announced for the meeting, the leaders from Jammu and Kashmir said they have come with an open mind.
Chennai city has three constituencies -- Chennai South, Chennai Central and Chennai North -- each of them as different from the other as cheese is from chalk.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, reading out a resolution adopted at the meeting, said the parties have decided to send delegations to meet President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of political parties to apprise them about the consequences of any attempt to abrogate Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution, or carry out delimitation of constituencies or trifurcating the state.
The sectarian killings by hit-and-run groups have revived and sharpened communal fears among the victims while the Poonch encounter reveals how deep the terrorists have dug in without getting noticed in the porous border area, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Sushil Chandra will conduct the UP, Punjab, Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand elections before he retires in May 2022.
The Bharatiya Janata Party created records when it scored a massive victory in the Karnataka assembly elections. Why? First, because it will form the first independent government in South India; and secondly, because it is the first party to win an election after the delimitation exercise was undertaken across the country.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Friday denied ever having exerted pressure on State Election Commissioner Nand Lal over the delimitation exercise in his constituency and accused him of lying. "The allegation by Nand Lal, that there was pressure from me for dereserving Latur constituency in the delimitation exercise, is baseless," Deshmukh said.Deshmukh's remarks came after Nand Lal, who spent a night Jail, accused the CM of political vedetta.
The Sikhs, especially in Punjab, are already angry and frustrated, cautions Shekhar Gupta.
Opposing a dialogue with Pakistan till it stops 'exporting' terror into Jammu and Kashmir, a Bharatiya Janata Party delegation led by Jammu and Kashmir president Ravinder Raina at an all-party meet in New Delhi on Thursday said those seeking engagement with the neighbouring country should meet the victims of violence to understand their pain.
"Trust is something that has been missing from both sides (Delhi and Srinagar). Successive prime ministers -- Jawaharlal Nehru, Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee -- made promises but the trust deficit has persisted," he added.
The US president's remarks in this regard come days after senior Indian and Chinese military commanders held talks aimed at resolving the months-long standoff along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. The two countries agreed to stop sending more troops to their disputed border in the Himalayas.
The new Parliament building will be constructed close to the existing one under the Central Vista redevelopment project, and it is expected to be completed in 21 months.
Babbar was elected from Agra as its Lok Sabha MP twice -- in 1999 and 2004. However, following delimitation in 2008, the Lok Sabha seat became reserved for the scheduled castes.
Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, joined the BJP in presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve.
Population is a touchy issue in India. Anybody will notice the crowded rat race we live in, notes Shyam G Menon.
"India has given a stern signal to its enemies by conducting surgical and air strikes. This tells us that India is changing and can take the most difficult decisions and isn't reluctant to implement them," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday in his Independence Day address to the nation.
They were part of a five-member team of climbers from West Bengal.
Having emerged as the face of opposition resistance to the Narendra Modi juggernaut after the TMC's triumph in the assembly elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is locked in an unequal battle as she squares off with "lightweight" rivals in her own lair--Bhabanipur.
'This (opposition to the project) is not just architects, but everyone needs to know more.' 'We need to be allowed to participate, maybe, you can ignore what we have to say, that's your decision.' 'At least follow the process.
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