The Centre had revoked the special status of the erstwhile state that was provided to it under Article 370 and bifurcated it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in 2019.
'Will the LG be ready to rule with a light hand, having been vested with powers that amount to using a hammer to kill a fly?' asks Aditi Phadnis.
In a significant administrative reshuffle, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha ordered the transfer and posting of 48 J-K Administrative Service (JKAS) officers, potentially creating friction with the National Conference-led government in the Union Territory. The move, seen by many as an attempt by the LG to assert control over the bureaucracy, includes the transfer of 14 additional deputy commissioners and 26 sub-divisional magistrates. The timing of the order, coinciding with the elected government's wait for approval on business rules, raises concerns over power dynamics in the region.
'...or go to jail.' 'The government is getting them silenced.'
Congress put up five demands at the all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday including early statehood, conducting polls to restore democracy and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits.
What the leaders said after the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday.
The dastardly dimensions of the attack are gradually sinking in even as the Government of India announced its immediate diplomatic and other retaliatory measures. It is generally expected to be followed up with punitive military action across the LoC, sooner than later, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Why the Battle of Diu is as historic as the Battle of Trafalgar.
The National Conference on Sunday ruled out joining the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and dismissed as baseless a media report in this regard.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, in his first public meeting in Jammu after quitting Congress, announced to launch his own political outfit that will focus on the restoration of full statehood.
The L-G will take decisions on police, officers of all-India services such as the IAS and the IPS, and giving sanction for prosecution in various cases.
Addressing workers of the JD-U, a Bharatiya Janata Party ally, Kumar also reiterated his demand for special status for Bihar, which the Modi government had earlier rejected.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first elected government in the Union Territory since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated.
'Article 370 is now dug 70 feet deep in the ground. It cannot come out.'
In a significant political development, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced on Thursday that an alliance with the Congress was finalised for all 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, which is going for its maiden assembly polls after being reorganised into a Union Territory.
Ahead of counting of votes, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday said his party was open to the idea of taking support of Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party to form government in the Union territory.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge vowed to fight for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that he would remain active in politics until Prime Minister Narendra Modi is ousted from power.
Congress rebel Satish Sharma, who defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party's Rajeev Sharma by nearly 7,000 votes and relegated his former party's heavyweight Tara Chand to the third position in the Chhamb seat, has found a place in the Omar Abdullah government, representing the Jammu region in the dispensation.
"After UK referendum, Delhi will soon have a referendum on full statehood," the Delhi Chief Minister tweeted. If Delhi gets full statehood, police, land and municipal corporations and bureaucracy will come under the state government.
Uttarakhand will become the first state in independent India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on January 27. The UCC will bring about uniformity in the society and ensure equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens. The law was passed by the state assembly in February 2024 and received presidential assent a month later. The UCC will govern and regulate laws relating to marriage and divorce, succession, live-in relationships and related matters. It sets equal marriageable age for men and women, grounds of divorce and procedures across all religions, and bans polygamy and 'halala'.
A Hyderabad court granted bail to six people who were arrested for vandalizing the residence of Telugu actor Allu Arjun. The incident sparked a political slugfest with the BJP and the BRS criticizing the Congress government. Meanwhile, Allu Arjun has been issued a notice to appear before police on Tuesday as part of the ongoing probe into a stampede during the screening of 'Pushpa-2'. The incident occurred on Sunday evening, when the six people, claiming to be members of the Osmania University - Joint Action Committee (OU-JAC), damaged flower pots and threw tomatoes at Arjun's residence. They were arrested by police and produced before a local court, which granted them bail on Monday. The incident has been condemned by politicians from various parties, with some alleging a Congress conspiracy.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Nagrota MLA Devender Singh Rana, brother of Union minister Jitendra Singh, died on Thursday at a private hospital in Haryana's Faridabad. He was 59.
Notwithstanding protests by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, he said the first session of the newly elected Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is "short in duration but historic in terms of agenda".
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."
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and 150 Ladakhis were again detained after they were released by the Delhi Police late Tuesday night, even as their indefinite fast continue at the police stations, officials said on Wednesday.
Once a trusted lieutenant of the former National Conference president Omar Abdullah and his political advisor during his tenure as chief minister, Rana holds considerable sway among Muslims, particularly the Gujjar community in Jammu.
Climate activist Soman Wangchuk announced on Sunday that he will launch a 28-day fast on Independence Day if the government does not invite Ladakh authorities for talks on demands for statehood and constitutional protection for the union territory.
Replying to a discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, he also slammed some Opposition members for their claim that the proposed law negates the hopes of the region getting back its erstwhile statehood.
'Ladakh has become a hollow UT.' 'Bureaucrats from Delhi rule Ladakh and there is no attention paid to the grievances of the people.'
AAP volunteers and its frontal organisations protested near BJP headquarters on the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, demanding the party to clear its stand on full statehood to Delhi.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Friday said attacks like the one in Gulmarg would continue to occur until India and Pakistan found a way to be friends and that would end Jammu and Kashmir's troubles.
A group of persons, claiming to be members of Osmania University Joint Action Committee, on Sunday vandalised flower pots and other things at the residence of top Telugu actor Allu Arjun in Hyderabad.
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.
'Everyone is unhappy with the lieutenant governor's administration, which is ignorant, high-handed, and inaccessible.'
Wangchuk, who has been camping at Ladakh Bhawan in the national capital, is yet to be approached by a central government representative, a group member said.
'Omar Abdullah presented Delhi as a villain in front of the people of Jammu Kashmir before elections and now is shaking hands with them.'
Terrorism decreased, corruption and dynastic politics ended and an era of peace, development, prosperity started on August 5, 2019, said Shah as he reached out to the youths in the Valley urging them to stand up to disruptive elements and become ambassadors of peace.
'If the country felt very strongly about the BJP, then why did the country not put money where the mouth is?'
He said the resolution was not part of the assembly's listed business and reflects the mindset of the newly-elected government in the Union Territory.
The Delhi government may call a special session to pass the resolution on the issue.
