Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday reviewed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir where violence is continuing over the Amarnath land row.
A suspension of the agitation over the Amarnath row is necessary to pave the way for a dialogue, senior Congress leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Wednesday.Azad said he was happy that all political parties echoed the view that the situation in the state was serious and there should be no room for communalisation of politics.He added that it is important for the current agitation to stop because "you cannot solve a problem."
Only vegetarian dishes were served at the official dinner held at a state-run five-star hotel.
With the dates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls announced, election fever has gripped Tamil Nadu with the two main political parties holding parleys with their allies on seat-sharing.
Birla, 57, has been MLA from Rajasthan thrice and MP twice.
Jammu and Kashmir seems to be set for a stint of Governor's rule, the fourth since 1947, following the fall of Ghulam Nabi Azad-led 31-month-old coalition government. Adhering to the principle of constitutional consultative process, the Governor on Tuesday invited leaders of various political parties for confabulations.
The odds are apparently stacked against Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad when he seeks to prove his majority in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Monday, but the confidence he exudes suggest that his government might just scrape through.
According to the returning officer, former chief minister and NC president, Dr Farooq Abdullah polled 27 votes while as Mohammad Shafi Uri got 25 votes in the third and final round of elections, held through Single Transferable Vote System.
Sources said 14 persons were injured when militants tossed a grenade at a rally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bhaderwah town on Wednesday afternoon.
It appears that the party has some kind of political death wish, observe Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
The election is scheduled for February 13. Their names have reportedly been cleared by the coalition government of the NC and the Congress.
He said, "I had to chase state chief ministers rather than them asking."
Morning assembly meetings in schools should be dispensed with under new guidelines being issued by the Health Ministry soon to contain the spread of swine flu which also make it mandatory for class teachers to check each student for symptoms of the viral disease.
Sources said Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad made a presentation on the swine flu situation in the country before the Cabinet following which the issue was discussed in great detail.
Amid rise in swine flu deaths, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has asked Chief Ministers to take urgent measures to tackle spread of the dreaded virus in the country.
As deaths due to swine flu continued to rise, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday discussed with Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar the situation arising out of the spread of the viral disease.The meeting, also attended by Health Secretary Naresh Dayal, came soon after two more deaths due to swine flu were reported in the country, and discussed the measures to contain further spread of the disease.
Azad had earlier in the day come under attack from the Reeda's family, which accused him of being insensitive towards her and demanded an apology from him.
Congress on Monday kept the government guessing on the insurance bill asking it to take on board all stakeholders and favouring the select committee route even as it insisted that the measure is its own "baby" and it is a "misnomer" that the party is opposed to it.
The Congress high command held long discussions with former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and state congress chief Saifuddin Soz, but no decision was taken during the meeting whether to support the National Conference to form new government headed by Omar Abdullah.
The Congress has a lot to consider before taking a decision on which party to align with in Jammu and Kashmir, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti says.
All India Congress Committee General Secretary Prithviraj Chavan, former Chief Minster Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Union Minister Saiffudin Soz, along with Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee and A K Antony are likely to take part in the deliberations. Congress sources said the election results clearly indicate that National Conference will be in a position to form the government with support of Congress and from some independents.
The civil secretariat re-opened in Srinagar amidst an employees strike and tight security arrangements on Monday.
The Jammu and Kashmir government wants the army's sophisticated ammunition depots in the valley relocated to safer, uninhabited areas
Fate of 271 candidates including two former chief ministers -- Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Ghulam Nabi Azad -- would be sealed on Wednesday, as 16 constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir go to polls in the sixth round of the seven-phase assembly elections.As many as 20,000 additional security forces personnel and nearly 10,000 local policemen have been deployed at 1,268 polling stations set up in the 16 assembly seats spread over five districts.
Rahul Gandhi replied on Twitter, saying, 'Thank you for your greetings @narendramodi ji. I appreciate them.'
Congress leader Jitin Prasada, one of the 23 leaders who wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi seeking organisational changes, said the letter was written with the sole purpose of suggesting how to reinvigorate and revitalise the party.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi will lead a delegation of Congress MPs to meet President Pranab Mukherjee, over developments in the Arunachal Pradesh assembly.
The Congress Working Committee will meet on Sunday to discuss the outcome of the assembly elections in five states where the party received a drubbing, sources said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has cautioned ministers and legislators of his party not to issue statements pertaining to political alliances in the forthcoming state assembly elections. In a statement, Azad said, "Nobody has been authorised to speak on this issue." Azad said that he would "take serious note against those making such statements".
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday criticised the government for proceeding with the presentation of the Union Budget after the death of E Ahamed, accusing it if delaying announcement of the news so that it could present the Budget without any hiccups
All senior state bureaucrats accompanying Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on the state aircraft will henceforth be subjected to personal and luggage frisking as part of the sped up drill regarding Azad's security.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the ongoing delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir has to happen quickly so that polls can be held to instal an elected government that gives strength to its development trajectory.
Special Security Guard of the state police, which is in-charge of security of the chief minister and other important personalities including National Conference chief Omar Abdullah, have been asked to undergo a rigorous training to be imparted either by elite National Security Guard or any other professional agency.
Succumbing to pressure from Lone's son and legislator Shoaib, who was supported by opposition National Conference, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad finally announced in the house that the CBI had been asked to probe the killing.
With the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) scheduled to meet Tuesday, intra-party consultations in Jammu and Kashmir continued for a second day Monday to discuss the Centre's invitation for an all-party meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24.
The black bands were worn as a mark of protest against the alleged attack on the Constitution of India with the passage of the amended citizenship act by the government, leaders said.
The decision to revoke the order was taken by the state cabinet which met in Srinagar under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
A day after the Jammu and Kashmir government took over yatra arrangements after the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board withdrew its request for the forest land, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday appealed to people to resume normal activities and let peace prevail while asking politicians and other groups not to rake up an already settled issue of land transfer. The Chief Minister urged politicians and leaders of various groups not to put the people to inconvenience & trouble.
Rejecting the appeal of Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the protesters poured on the streets and thorough fares of the city early Saturday morning, demanding revocation of order under which 39.88 hectares of forest land were transferred to the Amarnath board last month. However, the police action proved futile as the protesters, after dispersing temporarily, reassembled to continue their agitation, they said.
Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad are both set to enter the Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir. Congress president Sonia Gandhi cleared their names and both the Congress leaders would be filing their nomination papers on Tuesday.
