Month: June 2018

Omar Abdullah demands dissolution of Kashmir assembly, asks for early elections

Editor

National Conference vice president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday sought dissolution of the state legislative assembly to thwart attempts of horse-trading and further erosion of democratic processes and institutions. He also said the ongoing crisis in the Kashmir valley could not be resolved by operational and military means. Only dialogue both internally and externally as well could resolve the political conflict of Kashmir, he said at his party’s core group meeting today at the NC headquarters. In a scathing attack against the Mehbooba Mufti government which collapsed…

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It was a rainbow alliance: Ram Madhav on why BJP split with PDP

Editor

In an interview BJP general secretary Ram Madhav explains why the party ended its alliance with Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, and what comes next Ram Madhav is a national general secretary of the BJP, who played a key role in stitching up an alliance between his party and the Peoples Democratic Party of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Madhav worked closely with Sayeed and then with his daughter, Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed, steering the alliance through a difficult course between 2015 and now. He spoke about the reasons that led…

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Revoke PDP’s order regarding withdrawal of cases against stone-pelters: BJP leader to Guv

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A Bharatiya Janata Party leader on Wednesday requested Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra to revoke former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s order to drop cases against stone-pelters in the Valley. In his letter to the governor, BJP leader Ajay Agrawal said the order was against the law and should be cancelled in “overall national interest”. Agrawal argued that the state government had decided to withdraw such cases without taking into consideration the opinion of the individual paramilitary/Army and other personnel who were the victims. “[The] State has no power to…

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GOI takes direct control in Kashmir after BJP, PDP alliance ends

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India’s federal government took direct control of Kashmir state Wednesday after the ruling Hindu nationalist party ended its long-troubled alliance there with a Kashmiri political party. The shift to direct rule in the disputed region was approved after the Bharatiya Janata Party withdrew its support Tuesday for the People’s Democratic Party, following years of feuding and a deteriorating security situation. The BJP also heads the central government, and officials say Prime Minister Narendra Modi was involved in the decision to withdraw from the coalition. Political decisions will now be made…

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Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein UN human rights chief calls for inquiry panel on Kashmir

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UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has called for setting up an inquiry commission for a comprehensive investigation of the human rights situation in Kashmir. Zeid, who opened the 38th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday with a global update on human rights concerns, said he had sought to engage with India and Pakistan over the past two years regarding the situation in Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control. However, both India and Pakistan refused to give his office “unconditional…

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Jammu & Kashmir: One State, Two States of mind

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Wary of rising unease in its support base in Jammu and other parts of the country, BJP sought to refurbish its ‘Hindutva’ credentials by snapping ties with ally PDP to counter the perception that it had compromised its ideological commitment to unifying Jammu & Kashmir with the mainland. The alliance with PDP, seen to pursue a ‘soft separatism’ political line, was always at odds with the BJP’s ‘nationalist’ stance and its advocacy of scrapping Article 370 and amending laws like Article 35A that accord special privileges to state residents. More…

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Five reasons why saffron party finally dismantle the untenable alliance

Editor

The only legitimate question that can be asked of a moribund alliance lying in a coma at the intensive care unit is this: What motivated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to pull the life support plug now? There are five reasons why the BJP was finally compelled to dismantle the untenable alliance. 1. Differences over extension of non-initiation of combat operations The BJP, under pressure from Peoples Development Party (PDP), had half-heartedly agreed to it as part of coalition compulsion but it eventually came to a conclusion it may have to pay a steep…

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#HorseTrading: ‘Whatever does ex-J&K deputy CM Gupta mean?’wonders Omar Abdullah

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Former BJP deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Kavinder Gupta made an intriguing statement today, the operative part of which was “we are working on something & people will get to know about it”. Gupta was talking about a new government or the lack thereof in Jammu and Kashmir. His party, the BJP, pulled the plug on the coalition government it was in with the PDP in the troubled state. To opposition leader Omar Abdullah, Gupta’s statement indicated that the BJP was going to attempt to “horse-trade for government…

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Under Governor’s rule Kashmir Valley returns to tough security policy

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A Union minister said the government will adopt a more aggressive approach not only inside Kashmir but also along the Line of Control and the International Border as well. Under governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi will embark on a hardline security-centric policy with the scaling up of counter-insurgency operations, especially in the four districts of South Kashmir — Shopian, Kulgam, Anantnag and Pulwama — that have become the hotbed of militancy in the last two years, officials familiar with the plan said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)…

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BJP timed exit so J&K doesn’t go to polls before Lok Sabha election

Editor

The timing of BJP’s decision to pull the trigger on its alliance with PDP was determined by a desire to ensure that the J&K assembly election was not scheduled before the Lok Sabha polls due in early 2019. With Jammu & Kashmir having a provision for governor’s rule for six months, the BJP leadership is keen to let this period run as close to the end of 2018 as possible. The calculation was that if the six months ended in December, it would be too close to the Lok Sabha…

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