POLITICS

Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Thursday asked the Central Government to take the people of the country into confidence and explain why assembly elections in Jammu Kashmir are not being held as promised. He said while the polls are not a panacea for all the “ills” of Jammu Kashmir under the present set up of a Union territory, an elected government would provide some respite to the people. “The present government at the Centre has gone hoarse claiming that normalcy has returned to Jammu and Kashmir and that all wrongs have been set right. Then, why are the elections being delayed?” Tarigami, who is also a spokesman of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, told PTI. “The first excuse given was that the delimitation process had to be completed before the polls. They committed ha...

Amid cracks in the coalition, Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar told party MLAs that he is calling off the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Nitish Kumar has sought an appointment with Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan at 4:00 pm to submit his resignation, sources quoted by The Quint said. Reacting to the reports, BJP leader and Union Minister Kaushal Kishore said that the BJP never took any steps to irk Nitish Kumar and would want him to "continue as the chief minister."

Former JK chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday accused the outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind of “fulfilling BJP’s political agenda “. “The outgoing President leaves behind a legacy where the Indian Constitution was trampled upon umpteenth times. Be it scrapping of Article 370, CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) or the unabashed targeting of minorities and Dalits, he fulfilled BJPs political agenda all at the cost of the Indian Constitution,” Ms. Mufti said, in a tweet. Tweeting a fresh circular issued by the Chief Education Officer in central Kashmir’s Budgam, she again criticized the Lieutenant Governor’s administration for asking students to pay for the Tricolour for the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign. “Unfortunately, a lower rung government ...

Several political parties have submitted objections to the deputy commissioner Srinagar regarding proposed location of polling stations in the district by the Delimitation Commission, official sources said here on Friday. Official sources told Kashmir News Service (KNS) that political parties including National Conference, PDP, Congress, Apni Party and others have submitted their objections to the office of deputy commissioner Srinagar regarding proposed locations of polling stations by the Delimitation Commission. They said that the parties have raised the objections based on distance, voter strength and other issues for the proposed location of polling stations in the final order of the Delimitation Commission. Notably, notification was issued by the concerned deputy commissione...

The former Chief Minister of Jammu Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti hit out at the central Government for the recent alleged scams in JKPSI and FAA exams. Mehbooba Mufti also said that the Government of India's claims about providing jobs to 30,000 youth were false and far from the realities on the ground. "GOIs false claims of providing 30000 jobs in J&K couldn't be further from the truth. Every recruitment process be it JKPSI or now FAA is blighted by scams. Instead of naming and punishing the culprits, collective punishment is being meted out to aspirants by scrapping the list," she tweeted. Pertinently, the administration recently canceled the Jammu Kashmir Police sub-inspector exams after allegations of a scam in the conducting of exams. The names of officials, Government force pers...

Jammu Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president, Ghulam Ahmad Mir has resigned from the post on Wednesday. Sources privy to the development told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Mir has resigned has submitted resignation to the party after serving as party's state unit chief for the period of eight years. Mir has tendered submitted his resignation to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Talking to KNO, Mir said that he has shot a letter to AICC president and told her that he would respect any decision of the high command. Meanwhile, JKPCC is all set to get its new chief shortly as the party has already completed the procedure and sought suggestions from the leaders. Four names have been put forth for the next JKPCC head —(KNO)

National Conference (NC) President and Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Friday called for a united fight for the restoration of J&K's abridged democratic, constitutional rights. He said this while interacting with a number of delegations who called on him at his Srinagar residence from Kargil, North, South and Central parts of Kashmir. Among others senior leaders Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Kafilul Rehman, District President Baramulla Dr Sajad Shafi Uri, and Agha Syed Muhammad Rizvi, and Minority cell women's wing president Sumita Bhan were also present on the occasion. “Peace in J&K cannot be achieved by feeding bitter medicines to our people. It can only be achieved by restoring their fettered constitutional and democratic rights. Far from affording ...

Stating that people have no access to the corridors of power in Kashmir, Janata Dal-United President for Jammu Kashmir GM Shaheen Monday said that bureaucratic rule is not an alternative to the elected government. Shaheen who observed a hunger strike along with party workers at Pratap Park Srinagar against the non-redressal of grievances of people said that people are immensely suffering in Jammu and Kashmir. He said roads are in shambles and nothing is being done to repair them. He said there is an acute shortage of drinking water and people are being forced to hit the roads on daily basis. “Where people will go when nobody is listening to them. They don’t have access to the power corridors and bureaucrats are caring a fig for them. It is difficult to survive in such a choking envir...

The Jammu Kashmir National Conference on Sunday asked the government to release incarcerated Kashmiri youth, who are lodged in prisons in different parts of the country. Expressing concern over the plight of parents whose sons continue to remain out of sight for them for years altogether, party leader and MP Anantnag Hasnain Masoodi said, “It is quite gladdening to see PM Modi meet his mother at her residence in Gandhinagar as she entered the 100th year of her life. Such reunions are heart-warming indeed. However numerous mothers in Kashmir continue to long for a glimpse of their sons. The never ending wait has taken a toll on their mental and physical health. There is no way these mothers, who are pining to meet their sons, lodged in faraway jails can meet their sons. Most of their unf...