Category: General News

General News

‘What are the Norwegians up to in Kashmir?’ Omar Abdullah asks Sushma Swaraj

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The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah has questioned the recent visit of the ex-prime minister of Norway Kjell Magne Bondevik to Kashmir, where he met separatists leaders last week. National Conference leader Abdullah took to Twitter on Monday asking foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and national secretary advisor Ajit Doval to put Bondevik’s visit in perspective. “What are the Norwegians up to in Kashmir? Would either @SushmaSwaraj ji or Doval ji care to put the visit of the former Norwegian PM to both sides of the divided…

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Three projects on cards to stop Indus water from flowing into Pakistan

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India has decided to fast-track three projects, including construction of two dams, to arrest the unutilised water of its share under the bilateral Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, government officials said. The three projects include the Shahpur Kandi dam project, a second Sutlej-Beas link in Punjab and the Ujh Dam project in Jammu and Kashmir, they said. “These (three) projects were stuck in red tape and inter-state disputes. But it has been decided to expedite the execution of these projects,” one of them added. Under the Indus Waters Treaty, waters…

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PC alternative to dynastic politics, Grand Alliance was to keep me out of power: Sajad Lone

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Two days after the NC and the PDP staked claim to form a coalition government in J&K, People’s Conference (PC) chairman Sajad Lone on Friday termed the alliance as “opportunistic to stall the entry of a third regional party in Kashmir”. Lone said his party represented the regional aspirations of Kashmiris and would be a change-maker in the next Assembly elections. “It was an opportunistic alliance to stall the entry of a third regional party, but they have failed and we have emerged. We are the new alternative and will…

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Brief alliance with PDP holds lessons for India: NC’s Spokesperson Sameer Kaul

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National Conference (NC) spokesperson Sameer Kaul said in an interview on Thursday that the coming together of three mainstream political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, if only briefly, sets an example for the rest of the country to follow in Lok Sabha elections next year. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday staked a claim for forming a new government in J&K with the support of its arch rival NC and the Congress. The claim didn’t pass muster, with Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolving the assembly, in suspended animation since…

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Governor Satya Pal calls PDP-Cong-NC ‘Grand Alliance of Opportunists’

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NC, PDP wanted dissolution of Assembly for last five months ‘Horse trading of MLAs was going on since last 20 days’ ECI to decide when to conduct LA polls Terming NC-PDP-Congress grand-alliance of “opportunists”, Governor Satya Pal Malik Thursday claimed they were not in a position to provide a stable government in Jammu Kashmir. He said instead horse-trading of legislators had increased during the last 15 to 20 days, compelling him to dissolve the State Assembly. “I will not allow any political party to arrange support for government formation under-hand…

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BJP had no role in dissolution of JK assembly: Rajnath Singh

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Home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday distanced the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik’s decision to dissolve the state assembly, saying Malik acted after concluding that it wasn’t possible for a new state government to be formed in the current scenario. “The governor of J&K took the decision after considering the political situation there; he reached to a conclusion that government formation was not possible in the state,” Singh said in an interview with Hindustan Times. “It was a decision taken by the governor.…

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PDP, Congress, NC ganged up on Pakistan direction to keep BJP at bay: Kavinder Gupta

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Former Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta said on Wednesday that the Peoples Democratic Party, Congress and the National Conference were joining hands to form a government in the state at Pakistan’s behest. He made the comments before the dissolution of the Assembly by Governor Satya Pal Malik on Wednesday evening. “The three parties are ganging up to form a government in the state at Pakistan’s directions to keep the BJP away from power,” he said in a press conference. Gupta, who served as the Legislative Assembly Speaker and later as…

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PDP, Congress and NC appear to be joining hands to form a coalition govt?

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In a potentially far-reaching realignment of political forces in Jammu and Kashmir, the PDP, Congress and the National Conference appear to be joining hands to form a coalition government, sources in the three parties indicated Tuesday. The state is currently under Governor’s rule which cannot be extended after it completed its six-month period on December 19. It is proposed to impose President’s rule thereafter but the 87-member assembly is not being dissolved, according to Governor Satyapal Mallik. The government headed by the Peoples Democratic Party’s Mehbooba Mufti fell when its…

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J&K Govt seeks to push through development agenda

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The Jammu and Kashmir government is set to approach the government of India for “special consideration” of some major administrative and developmental matters, including construction of a tunnel on the Mughal Road as well as restoration of induction quota for local civil servants in central services, in its bid to “accelerate the governance agenda” in the restive state. A top source said the governor’s administration has finalised a “list of matters”— pending approval from the central government for the past many years—to be taken up at various top levels in…

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Nine phase panchayat elections from tomorrow, Little buzz across Valley, poll activity minimal

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Against the backdrop of boycott call by separatists, terror threats and major logistical challenges in snowbound areas, J&K is set to go for the nine-phase panchayat poll from Saturday amid tight security arrangements. The panchayat elections are being held in J&K after a gap of seven years. The last elections were conducted in 2011 and the panchayats had completed their five-year term in 2016. “As many as 47 blocks — 26 in the Kashmir division and 21 in the Jammu division — mainly in snowbound parts of the state will…

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