Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday accused the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party of taking support from ex-militants for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and said the two parties want to take the Union territory back to its 'trouble-filled days'.
There is a limit to ignoring genuine aspirations of the people and suppressing their legitimate voice in running the affairs of the state, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
In its chargesheet filed in a special court in Srinagar, the CBI alleged that Abdullah as the association president at that time had connived with the treasurer of JKCA and others for undue siphoning off and misappropriation of funds, a CBI spokesperson said in New Delhi.
The announcement came after PAGD leaders met at Abdullah's Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar to discuss the Centre's invitation.
Voting for this crucial phase, covering 40 assembly segments across seven districts -- Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir -- is scheduled for October 1.
Abdullah, the Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar, is the first Jammu and Kashmir chief minister to be booked under the PSA.
On the Opposition's poll promise of statehood restoration, Shah said, "I want to ask Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi, who is going to restore the statehood. You cannot give it back. Why are you misleading the public?"
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is poised to form the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, having secured a victory in the assembly elections by securing 49 out of 90 seats on which polls were held for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 five years ago.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, who underwent a successful kidney transplant in London, was making good recovery on Monday.
Abdullah was among a host of leaders and activists who were detained on August 5 when the centre abrogated Article 370 and divided the state into two union territories -- Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
"Border skirmishes have been rising and people are dying... A way has to be found to deal with this. Except for talks... As you are talking to China to attempt that it withdraws (from Ladakh border), we should also talk to our (other) neighbour to find a way to get out of this situation," he said in Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour amid protests from treasury benches.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's unexpected announcement on Sunday that he will resign after two days drew mixed reactions from parties, with some saying it was a compulsion due to bail restrictions on his functioning and others hailing it as a right call to go back to the people.
Asked if the party would approach the court for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood, the NC leader said, "I do not want to get into that right now."
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.
After the Congress' shock defeat in Haryana, the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties flexed their muscles on Wednesday, accusing the grand old party of ignoring them.
National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Thursday met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the ruling partners are understood to have discussed the situation arising out of the continued unrest in Jammu and Kashmir. In Srinagar, his son and chief minister, Omar Abdullah, fuelled speculation by meeting the state governor N N Vohra
"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.
"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.
Wearing black arm bands and holding placards, the women protesters were not allowed by the police personnel to assemble and were asked to disperse peacefully.
'I am not afraid of BJP. I am not armed with lathi or stone, let them come to me and reply to my questions which they will not'
The Enforcement Directorate had filed the money laundering case after taking cognisance of a Central Bureau of Investigation FIR and chargesheet.
Here are glimpses of famous faces who got their fingers inked.
'We called him Sher-e-Kashmir but we realised he was no lion but a pussycat who surrendered.'
'The Abdullah family is the problem and facilitator of the instability that we are seeing in Kashmir.'
"There is [a] strong difference of opinion with Geelani. If he cooperates and removes this difference it would be fine. Otherwise, he will slowly be isolated."
Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday late night met Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu at the latter's residence in Hyderabad.
'Article 370 is now dug 70 feet deep in the ground. It cannot come out.'
'We want to ensure that no government in J&K will be formed without our support.'
National Conference patron and former chief minister Dr Farooq Abdullah will contest the forthcoming assembly election from the Hazratbal constituency, according to the list of candidates released by the party on Thursday.The party has repeated almost all its earlier candidates. There are very few new names in the electoral list.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday clinched a stunning hat-trick win in Haryana overcoming anti-incumbency and dashing Congress' hopes of a comeback while the National Conference-Congress combine pulled off a spectacular victory in maiden elections in Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said that army should reopen the alleged Patribal fake encounter case so that "the justice is served".
Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy and president of the ruling National Conference Dr Farooq Abdullah filed his nomination papers from the prestigious Srinagar parliamentary constituency on Monday. The constituency goes to polls on April 30.
The withdrawal of the candidature by DPAP leaders on the last day on August 30 is seen as a boost to the NC-Congress alliance.
Dubbing People's Democratic Party demand for his resignation as a political stunt, National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Thursday dismissed allegations of "political payoffs" against him and said truth will emerge in the judicial inquiry into the death of an NC worker.
Every trick in the trade is being tried unabashedly.
In simple arithmetical terms every possible 'arrangement' is being made to deny a majority to its rivals. A split verdict would hand a vital advantage to the BJP which is adept at extracting the best out of such a situation, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'The lack of opportunities here remains the biggest worry.' 'We have seen investment summits, but if you look around, much of it is only on paper and not on the ground.'
In the first targeted killing of the year, terrorists on Wednesday shot dead a worker from Punjab while another sustained injuries in Habba Kadal area of Srinagar, officials said.
'INDIA will easily cross 50 seats out of 90 in Jammu and Kashmir.'
The incident took place at Bhatindi on Saturday morning when the man, hailing from Mendhar in Poonch district, drove at a high speed and banged his car against the main gate, they said.
Restoration of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir's statehood as well as implementation of the autonomy resolution passed by the erstwhile assembly in 2000 are among the National Conference's 12 guarantees announced in its manifesto for the upcoming polls.
