Sources close to the top BJP leadership tell me that Tharoor has already had secret meetings with the BJP's top brass and is waiting patiently to make his next move, reports Ramesh Menon.
Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is contesting first election of his political career, was up for a surprise on Thursday as he was asked by a polling officer in Jammu to prove his identity to cast vote after the senior Congress leader failed to furnish his voter card.
The diplomatic exercise aimed at presenting India's stance against Pakistan on terror comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor -- the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
The Congress on Sunday said it was not stopping anyone from being part of diplomatic delegations to be sent to various countries following Operation Sindoor and that its leaders who have been named at the instance of the government must listen to their conscience and contribute to the exercise.
Days before the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, intelligence agencies had flagged the potential targeting of tourists especially those staying in hotels on the outskirts of Srinagar in the foothills of the Zabarwan range, officials in the know said Saturday.
Addressing a series of election rallies in support of his party's candidates in Jammu on the last day of campaigning, Azad voiced concerns over the promises made by various political parties regarding the return of Article 370 and said these promises are not grounded in reality.
'It is high time that the 'war on terror' is removed from our diplomatic toolbox.' 'Certainly, our parliamentarians have no role in it,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Thursday advocated shifting border residents of Samba district to safer places in view of travails they had to face during the recent heavy cross-border firing and shelling.He was on an extensive visit to border areas of Samba district to assess the situation arisen due to recent firing from Pakistan.
He laid stress on workers' connection with the ground and cited his own example when he was party in-charge for various assembly elections in the past.
Simultaneous polls will help save resources, spur development and social cohesion, deepen "foundations of democratic rubric" and help realise the aspirations of "India, that is Bharat", the panel had said.
After spending nearly 50 years in a colonial bungalow at 24, Akbar Road, the Congress moved into a new office on January 15. Rasheed Kidwai, who knows the history of the Congress better than the Congress, looks back at the people who breathed life into this address.
Saddam, a businessman, is the eldest among the two siblings. He has studied in England. Sofiya Nabi Azad, his sister, has studied journalism.
There was more to him than he let on, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
The Union government has ordered the complete withdrawal of the counter-terrorist commando force NSG from VIP security duties and handing over its nine "high-risk" VIPs to the CRPF by next month, official sources said Wednesday.
Karra, who became the J&K Congress chief last Friday replacing Vikar Rasool Wani, said a call is already there for all secular parties who are opposed to the "hegemonic attitude" of the BJP to unite.
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.
Striking an emotional chord with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Thursday said he considers himself their soldier in New Delhi, and added his doors are always open for party workers -- 'the lions of the Congress'.
The panel may recommend amending at last five articles of the Constitution to enable holding of simultaneous polls in the country.
Asserting that religion should not used to get political mileage, Azad said whoever takes refuge in religion in politics is weak.
The Opposition party also attacked Azad, saying "Mr. GNA himself gives new evidence of his DNA mutation by saying 'those opposing Article 370 abrogation ignorant of the situation on the ground'."
The change in Anantnag's demographic after delimitation has added layers of political complexities to the constituency with Pahari-Gujjar, Jammu versus Kashmir dimensions.
Incidentally, 164 of the total 356 candidates in the fray from the 43 assembly seats of Jammu region got less votes than none of the above, which gives an option to voters to reject all candidates in a constituency.
'It is sad and unfortunate. But we have to accept it'
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.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina, seeking re-election from Nowshera assembly constituency of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, is facing a major challenge from his former party colleague Surinder Choudhary.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday expressed anguish over Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge trooping into the Well of the House during an opposition protest, saying it is for the first time that a person occupying the post has engaged in such conduct.
Azad ended his five-decade association with the Congress last month, saying the party was comprehensively destroyed and lashing out at Rahul Gandhi for "demolishing" its entire consultative mechanism.
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Friday expressed dismay and a "sense of betrayal" over Ghulam Nabi Azad's resignation from the party, and said quitting strengthens the policies, systems and people that made them write the "letter of reform".
'A man who has been treated with the greatest respect by the Congress leadership has betrayed it by his vicious personal attacks which reveals his true character. GNA's DNA has been Modi-fied,' Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh tweeted.
The plan to relieve NSG from VIP security tasks has been in the making since 2012 when NSG commanders foresaw an event where simultaneous terror attacks could be witnessed at one time on multiple centres in the country and the commandos will have to be rushed in different directions.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a veiled dig at Azad who was conferred with the award.
The notice, sent through Azad's legal counsel Naresh Kumar Gupta, seeks compensation of Rs 2 crore for causing damage to Azad's "unblemished reputation."
Sources said they will discuss the party's poor performance at the hustings and will evolve their future strategy.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
The vehicle, a Tavera, was on its way to Jammu from Srinagar and it fell into a 300-foot gorge at the Battery Cheshma area of the district around 1.15 am, they said.
'After such a long career, courtesy entirely the party he's been tasked to slander, by giving interviews indiscriminately, Mr. Azad diminishes himself further'
The former bureaucrat, who was a close aide of Sayeed, wondered how a party with just 16 members could "blackmail" Gandhi on government formation.
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.
The Congress leader also lamented the exclusion of current Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge from the committee
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will attend the meetings of the committee as a special invitee, while legal affairs secretary Niten Chandra will be secretary to the panel.
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