It is for the first time in the history of Independent India that not a single Muslim is part of the Union Cabinet.
This is the first meeting chaired by Gandhi after relinquishing the post of Congress president last year.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said he was ready for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into allegations of wanton forest destruction, wherein his brother has been named by a news channel.
These days, the chief minister said, various political parties and the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders had been holding public meetings in the Valley.
The all parties' meeting was convened by Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to arrive at a consensus with regard to the grant of citizenship rights to refugees who poured into the state from neighbouring Pakistan in 1947, 1965 and 1971.
Official sources said that the informal discussions also included fresh delimitation of assembly constituencies with the intended 25% increase over the existing seats in the Assembly.
The Centre will provide a close proximity cover of elite "Black Cat" commandos from the National Security Guard (NSG) to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in the wake of threat perception from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
'What led to the present crisis was an action taken by my government in good faith. Nobody realised then that things would come to such a stage. I feel that had it not been for the coming elections in the state, the cabinet decision (to allot land to the Amarnath shrine board) would not have been even noticed. It was the timing of the decision that resulted in a bad situation,' says Azad.
This was the second such plot foiled by security agencies in a month. Earlier, terrorists had planned to target Azad at Ramban in Jammu region but the three possible attackers were nabbed before they could act.
'I told Rahul: "You have to become president. Taalne se nahin hoga (you can't avoid the responsibility any longer)".' 'Rahul said: "I will think about it".'
An overwhelming number of new appointees across the party's organisational structure -- from the highest decision-making body CWC (Congress Working Committee) to the special committee formed to assist interim party chief Sonia Gandhi -- are known as Rahul Gandhi's confidantes.
Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday demanded that the strength of its police be "tripled" in order to take complete control of militancy in the state, which has become a gateway for terrorists to carry out attacks in other parts of the country.
Azad, while condemning the brutal murder of five civilians by militants, said the incident is an eye opener and a lesson.
Ansari, who is on a two-day visit to the state, is scheduled to attend the fourth convocation of the the Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agriculture and Technology on Sunday. Ansari visited the famous Nishat Garden on the banks of the Dal Lake on Saturday. He also paid obeisance at the Hazrtabal shrine which houses the relic of the Holy Prophet of Islam.
As the winter session of Parliament ends on Friday, images of our MPs you haven't seen before!
This follows the withdrawal of support to the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led government by the People's Democratic Party last month, which has 17 members in the assembly, while as the Congress has 21 legislators. The largest party in state assembly is the opposition National Conference with 24 members and the Panthers Party has four members. There are 16 independent MLA's in the House.
This is the third time the party is boycotting a meeting, amid rumours that all is not well with the coalition.
important financial and economic bills, including the Chartered Accountants (Amendment) Bill, 2003, the Cost and Works Accountants (Amendment) Bill, 2003 and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill did not come up.
Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra told Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad that the Amarnath Shrine Board would not pursue the transfer of land.
This comes in the wake of the PDP demand for phased withdrawal of security forces from civilian areas of the state.
Addressing a public meeting at Uri, about 100 km from Srinagar in north Kashmir on Saturday, Azad said once peace was visible on the ground in the state, withdrawal of troops will automatically follow.
The chief minister said that the present situation was not ripe enough for withdrawal and any hasty step in this direction could be exploited by the militants that can result in loss of gains made over the years and can also lead to loss of lives.
The army in Jammu and Kashmir will vacate schools and hospital buildings under its use in the state by the end of November.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has directed massive relief and rehab exercise for the effected families and asked his ministerial colleagues Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed and Prem Sagar Aziz to visit the area on Wednesday for an on-the-spot assessment.
Sources close to the CM told Business Standard that Azad had suggested to the party's Central leaders that since he was not keen to be projected as the party's chief ministerial candidate for the next year's elections, he should be replaced at the earliest.
Hours after the verdict was announced, Azad visited the dam site in the mountainous Doda district and met the engineers and workers who were jubilant at the verdict by the World Bank appointed arbitrator Prof Raymond Lafitte.
The finance minister could not take the oath earlier in Parliament due to his ill-health.
Mehbooba Mufti, president of People's Democratic Party, claimed that she has surrendered her security, and so has her party legislators.
The chief minister said he recently had meetings with the prime minister, union home minister and foreign minister and discussed matters pertaining to the dialogue and peace.
The Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said organisations that missed the first roundtable, will be persuaded to attend the May round.
Even though it was stated that no action would be taken against the senior leaders who had written to Sonia Gandhi, they say that the retaliation had already begun, reports Aditi Phadnis
Reacting to widespread criticism of the land lease decision, Mir said the decision to lease out 550 kanals of land in the Gulmarg tourist resort had been taken by the state cabinet headed by chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in Jammu Friday once again categorically rejected the formula of Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf of self-governance and demilitarisation of Jammu and Kashmir.
The move comes after the letter that four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court had earlier written stating that there was danger to the independence of judiciary.
Khuda, an Indian Police Service officer from the 1974 batch, is an additional director-general of police and was heading the states intelligence wing.
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