Category: General News

General News

Need to reach minds of boys with guns in Kashmir: Saifuddin Soz

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Saifuddin Soz, who stirred controversy over his comments on an ‘independent’ Kashmir, said a hardline stand against militancy would not work in the Valley. Congress leader Saifuddin Soz wants a “powerful dialogue” with “boys who wield guns”, not a hardline approach, in Kashmir. In the thick of a controversy for his remarks on an “independent” Kashmir, Soz – who has authored a book, Kashmir: Glimpses of history and the story of struggle – said in an interview that the Centre should hold talks with militants through the Hurriyat Conference, an…

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Musharraf had said Kashmiris first choice is Independence: Saifuddin Soz

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Congress leader Saifuddin Soz today said that former Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf was right when he said Kashmiris prefer independence to joining Pakistan, to which the BJP retorted, “Alas there’s a Pakistan outside of India and a Pakistan within the Congress.” The BJP was responding to SOz’s comment to ANI news agency about the situation in Kashmir. “Musharraf said Kashmiris don’t want to merge with Pakistan, their first choice is independence. The statement was true then and remains true now also. I say the same, but I know that it…

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GOI wants ‘Political Person’ as next governor for J&K

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In a departure from the norm of appointing people with military, civil service backgrounds to the post, the Centre seeks a ‘political person’ to replace Vohra, insiders say The Centre favours a “political person” to become the next governor of Jammu and Kashmir, in a departure from the traditional practice of appointing people with military, police or civil service backgrounds to the post, people familiar with the matter said. The tenure of current governor, NN Vohra, a former civil servant, ends on June 27 and he is expected to continue…

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PDP-BJP alliance break-up a fixed match: Omar Abdullah

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Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has described the break-up of the PDP-BJP alliance as a “brilliant fixed match” and said the two parties “crafted their divorce” and “scripted it to perfection” after taking cue from Bollywood. “The PDP and BJP have been watching Bollywood movies for political strategy. This is how they have crafted their ‘divorce’. Brilliant fixed match, scripted to perfection except the audience aren’t fools and neither are the rest of us,” Omar, who is the vice-president of the National Conference (NC), wrote on Twitter while sharing a…

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

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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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BJP cuts ties with PDP: Mehbooba Mufti was lonely at the top, stays lonely at the bottom

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Mehbooba Mufti had the chance to repair the damage after her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, died while in office, but she took centre stage, and swiftly moved from being a soft separatist to being what many in Kashmir called an ultranationalist. Driving through the picturesque countryside in South Kashmir, where she was campaigning for the 2014 assembly elections, Mehbooba Mufti was clear about one thing. “There is no question of allying with the BJP. We have nothing in common,’’ she told me as she hopped in and out of the…

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End of the affair in J&K: Why BJP dumped PDP

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The scale of security operations in the Valley, a deteriorating law and order situation, increased cases of attack on security personnel and feedback from party leaders made the BJP decide to pull out, sources say. The decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to withdraw from the Jammu and Kashmir government stemmed from its desire to protect its “core support base”, especially in Jammu, avoid future “political costs” at the national level that would have come with staying on in the alliance in the run-up to the 2019 general elections,…

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