Category: General News

General News

Tassaduq Mufti more honest than Mehbooba Mufti: Omar Abdullah

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National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Monday slammed Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti over her “hollow” tweet on the violence in the state, and said that her brother Tassaduq Mufti was more honest than her in voicing opinion on the situation. In the wake of the Pulwama encounter, Mufti had called for unity among the people and professed that “violence is no solution to the issues that plague us”. Quoting her tweet, the former chief minister said, “Your tweet has a hollow ring to it. At least…

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Professor’s killing shows just jobs, development not answer to Kashmir’s Issues: Omar Abdullah

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Just providing jobs and ensuring development is not the solution that will end “violence and alienation” in Kashmir, former chief minister Omar Abdullah said on Saturday referring to the killing in an encounter of an assistant professor who allegedly had joined terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. “Sadly this is also an answer to those who claim jobs & development are the solution to the violence & alienation in Kashmir. This is another tragic development in a steady stream of tragedies in Kashmir,” Abdullah tweeted. Earlier, Mohammad Rafi Bhat, a contractual assistant…

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Don’t allow vested elements to disturb peace: Mehbooba Mufti

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Hailing the people of Jammu for upholding the values of brotherhood and amity despite severe provocations, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Friday appealed to the people to carry forward this tradition of social inclusion and not let any vested elements cause any wedge between communities. Interacting with the members of the civil society here in the evening, the Chief Minister praised the people of the Jammu region for upholding harmony and brotherhood despite severe provocations and defeating the evil designs of miscreants who are out to divide the people. She…

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Will transfer Kathua gangrape case at slightest hint of unfair trial: Supreme Court

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Supreme Court said the Kathua gangrape and murder trial should be fair not only for the accused but also for the victim’s family. It has also ruled out a CBI probe. The Supreme Court on Thursday indicated that it might move the case of an eight-year-old girl’s gang rape and murder out of Jammu’s Kathua in case it concludes that a fair trial of the suspects is not possible there. “Fair trial is the consideration and we are concerned with the interest of the victim and accused. If we find…

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BJP reluctant to rein in Lal Singh, stop his anti-govt rallies

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Even as the outspoken party legislator Choudhary Lal Singh has stepped up attacks on Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, the ruling BJP appears to be not in mood to “rein in” its former forest minister. Although some ministers have been mounting pressure on the party to stop Lal Singh from directly attacking the CM, the leadership is convinced that he has, so far, not indulged in any anti-party activity or indiscipline which warrants action.“There is no reason, so far, to take action against Lal Singh, who is the party’s prominent leader,”…

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Bar Council of India bails out Kathua Bar

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Despite Kathua Bar Association admitting in a statement that it had obstructed the Crime Branch from producing the charge-sheet against the accused in Kathua rape and murder case, the Bar Council of India on Thursday told the Supreme Court that nothing of the sort had happened. What is more, the BCI also advocated the CBI probe into the case. The BCI report, which was filed before a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said the demand of Jammu & Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Jammu, and Kathua District Bar…

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PDP, Congress disown slain political worker in Kashmir; Omar Abdullah tweets ‘let’s just call him a NC worker’

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A former Congress and PDP leader Ghulam Nabi Patel died few minutes on way to the hospital in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district soon after suspected militants suddenly appeared in front of his Scorpio vehicle and fired multiple shots, two of them hitting his face on Wednesday. His son and two security personnel were also injured in the attack. But ironically enough Patel, 67, a resident of Dangerpora Shadimarg on Pulwama-Shopian border in south Kashmir, who worked for different mainstream political parties in the Valley and was ostracised for the same…

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Cash starving J&K first state to approve 7th pay commission

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Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday became the first state to approve the implementation of the 7th pay commission recommendations for state government employees and pensioners with effect from January 2016. “The cabinet decision will benefit around five lakh employees and pensioners in the state. The financial implications will be Rs 4,201 crore per year while one-time arrears would cost the government Rs 7,477 crore,” J&K finance minister Altaf Bukhari said. “State government employees can now draw the salary for April 2018 as per the revised scales. Arrears of pensioners will…

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Ahead of cabinet reshuffle, BJP ministers seek slots by playing caste card

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The BJP is facing pressure from MLAs seeking portfolios in the council of ministers based on their caste ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir cabinet reshuffle which is likely to be carried out before 27 April. The Governor’s Office and the Chief Minister’s Office is slated to close in Jammu and open in Srinagar in May. According to BJP leaders, they are seeking an adequate representation of different castes, including Scheduled Castes (SCs) MLAs, Gaddis (Hindu nomads), Rajputs and Brahmins in the council. Of the 25 MLAs, the BJP has…

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Why India cannot accommodate a small Muslim majority state: Former RAW chief A S Dulat

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Amarjit Singh Dulat, former chief of the research and analysis wing (RAW) and the former special director of the intelligence bureau (IB), criticised India for not being able to “accommodate Kashmir”. He was speaking on Kashmir and the need of the hour to solve the problem, while delivering a lecture at Patrakar Bhavan in Pune, organised by Kakasaheb Gadgil Pratishthan. “I do not think we understand how much a Kashmiri wants to talk and how much he wants to be heard. When there is so much chaos, no one wants…

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