Mehbooba Mufti won Anantnag bypoll by more than 12,000 votes

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday won the bypoll to the Anantnag Assembly constituency by more than 12,000 votes. After 10 rounds of counting, Mehbooba secured more than 16,000 votes against her nearest rival and Congress candidate Hilal Ahmad Shah who got 5,529 votes. National Conference candidate Iftikhar Misger was a distant third, securing 2,702 votes, district election officials said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose party is in a coalition government with Mehbooba’s PDP, was quick to congratulate her. 57-year-old Mehbooba was among eight candidates in the…

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Counting disrupted in Anantnag after bogus vote allegation

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was leading by nearly 3,000 votes against her nearest rival as counting in this south Kashmir assembly constituency was briefly disrupted on Saturday after Congress supporters alleged that bogus votes were being counted in the name of postal ballots. But the vote count resumed immediately even as dozens of supporters of Congress candidate Hilal Ahmad Shah shouted anti-government slogans and protested over “unsealed” postal ballots. Shah alleged that postal ballots were “not properly sealed and were basically bogus votes”. The returning officer refused to entertain his…

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Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP leads in 3 seats, Congress in one : Anantnag by-poll

Counting of votes is underway, Saturday, in south Kashmir’s Anantnag Assembly constituency. In the first round of counting of ballots so far, the Peoples Democratic Party has scored three votes, Congress one and NOTA one. The results should be known before midday. PDP leader and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Hilal Ahmad Shah of the Congress and Iftikhar Hussain Misgar of the National Conference are three of the eight candidates contesting from the constituency. The by-election in Anantnag was necessitated in the wake of the death of the then Chief Minister…

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Article 370 on sale?

Ruckus over mining lease to non-local in JK; Speaker orders inquiry, says House insulted; Opposition seeks resignation of Minister; BJP joins anti-government protest Speaker of J&K Legislative Assembly Kavinder Gupta Friday ordered an inquiry into issuance of mining lease to a non-local in Jammu and Kashmir under a controversial notification that was put on hold by him, while remarking that the Government has “insulted” the Chair and the House. The Speaker, while questioning the Government decision, directed for strict action against erring officials after members, cutting across parties and including…

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Clashes erupt in north, south Kashmir, Srinagar after Friday prayers

Clashes erupted in north Kashmir’s Sopore town on Friday after some youth threw stones on forces personnel. According to witnesses, scores of youth assembled at Main Chowk and started shouting pro-freedom, anti-India slogans. They later began throwing stones at the police and paramilitary personnel deployed there. Witnesses added that the police and paramilitary forces in the area retaliated by lobbing tear smoke canisters. As the clashes intensified, the shopkeepers downed shutters of their shops and traffic was also affected. Police summoned reinforcements to the area and chased away the youth. No one was…

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J&K Govt rules out ban on liquor, says freedom of choice can’t be enforced

Jammu and Kashmir government today ruled out ban on sale or trade of liquor in the state, saying there is freedom of choice and decisions cannot be enforced on others. “There is a demand for banning liquor but I believe that the issue needs to be addressed on the basis of freedom of choice,” Minister for Finance Haseeb Drabu said while speaking during the Zero Hour in the Legislative Council. “As a state policy, we cannot enforce our decisions on others, there is a freedom of choice and let the…

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Masked men raise Pakistan, ISIS flags in Srinagar

Masked men in Kashmir raised Pakistan and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) flags and pelted stones at policemen after Friday prayers in protest against New Delhi’s rule. The protesters also raised pro-Pakistan and pro-freedom slogans at the rally in Srinagar. Protestors pelted stones at security personnel who in turn fired tear gas shells to disperse them. Several incidents of pro-Pakistan rallies have been reported in recent times in Kashmir, which both India and Pakistan claim in full but rule in part. Flags of militant groups like ISIS,…

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KCCI to protest against online portals for marginalising tourism business

The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) on Friday said that the trade body would stage a protest against what it said marginalisation of the business of tour operators of Kashmir by Online Travel Portals (OTPs). A statement issued here termed it an “unethical” business way by offering Discounts or Coupons or Vouchers to customers who book Kashmir Packages, particularly Hotel bookings online. “This unethical & illegal practice by these OTP’s have made Tour/Travel operators to suffer badly and if this trend continues, it will render them jobless leading…

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Advani, Dy CM Inaugurate Sindhu Bhavan at Leh

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Member Parliament, LK Advani along with Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh today inaugurated Sindhu Bhawan at Choglamsar, Leh. The state of the art Bhawan, would provide all the requisite boarding and lodging facilities to the yatris coming for the Sindhu darshan festival. The festival is organized every year drawing a large number of people from different parts of the country. Minister for Ladakh Affairs and Cooperatives- Chhering Dorje, Chief Executive Councilor, Dr. Sonam Dawa, Member of Parliament, Thupstan Chhewang were also present on the…

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Muslim League accuses Radisson Blu management of harassing Muslim employees

After the recent Abaya ban controversy at Delhi Public School (DPS) Athwajan Srinagar it is now Masrat Alam led Jammu Kashmir Muslim League that has alleged Radisson Blu management after taking control of the Mumtaz Group of Hotels in Kashmir is forcing local hotel employees to shave their beard and those who don’t oblige are being fired from the job. In a statement to news agency CNS, Muslim League General Secretary Muhammad Rafiq Ganaie said that Radisson Blu General Manager at Grand Mumtaz Hotel Srinagar Raj Deep has been forcing…

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