Category: General News

General News

Farooq bats for dissolution of Assembly, fresh polls

Editor

National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah today called for dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and holding fresh elections if PDP and BJP fail to form a government, after he retracted from his yesterday’s statement that his party would think over if a proposal to form the government comes from the saffron party. “If they (PDP and BJP) cannot solve the problems of the people, the assembly must be dissolve and hold new elections,” Farooq Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a private function here today. Asked to comment…

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MLA from Kashmir to attend Islamabad meet, Hurriyat too invited

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Separatist groups and two Jammu and Kashmir legislators have been invited to a conference on Kashmir set to be held in Islamabad, and at least one legislator on Friday said he will attend. The invitation for the January 20-21 Round Table Conference has been issued by Sardar Muhammed Yaqoob Khan, president of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Those invited include all constituents of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, civil society members and legislators Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami (CPI-M) and Engineer Rashid (Independent) — the latter said he will take part. A spokesman for Rashid, who…

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PDP signals fresh engagement on ‘Agenda of Alliance’

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Party meeting likely by weekend Curtains seem to have fallen over the possibility of a government being in shape in the near future as the signals from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti are clear that a new set of terms need to be negotiated with BJP to continue the alliance. Though BJP is hiding its nervousness by downplaying the latest vibes from PDP, it is becoming clear that the two parties are not on course of getting on together as they were until January 7. PDP, which holds…

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PDP-BJP govt did ‘absolutely nothing’ for 10 months: Omar

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Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the PDP’s review of the performance of its coalition with the BJP was a vindication of opposition charge that the government did “absolutely nothing” in the past 10 months. “Effectively making our point that their government did absolutely nothing for 10 months,” Omar wrote on Twitter. The opposition National Conference working president was reacting to PDP statement that the party was reviewing the progress made on its ‘Agenda of Alliance’ with the BJP before taking a decision on continuation…

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NHAI fails to provide basic amenities on highways

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In the absence of washrooms and rest houses on the national highways, travellers are dependent of dhabas. Despite charging a heavy toll, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has failed to provide basic amenities to commuters on the highways. The much-hyped programme of ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ is being ignored on the national highways of Jammu and Kashmir as well as in the rest of India. People can be seen attending to nature’s call on the roadside of national highways. Travelling on the highways is very difficult for women as…

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Uncertainty remains as PDP in no hurry to form government

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The PDP seems to be in no hurry on the government formation even as the party gave indications about its next move. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, which remains the centre of attention following the death of her father and Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, is yet to open her cards. “The family is still in shock and grief,” said a senior PDP leader. “Things will settle down in due course of time,” added the PDP leader, giving an impression that Mehbooba was in no hurry to succeed her father. With…

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BJP maintains silence on PDP’s ‘tough’ stance

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As the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has adopted a “tough posture” by seeking concrete action to implement the “Agenda of the Alliance”, the BJP is maintaining a guarded silence to avoid any controversy at this crucial juncture. “There is no need to react on individual statements of some PDP leaders. Let the party (PDP) leadership officially clear its stand,” state BJP president Sat Sharma said when his reaction was sought on the reported statement of former Education Minister Naeem Akhter. Akhter, a senior PDP leader, today said his party expects…

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No sign nor any moves towards govt formation

Editor

There was no sign of any moves on Wednesday towards government formation in Jammu and Kashmir with the BJP saying that it was waiting for the first move by its coalition partner PDP which, however, maintained a mysterious silence. BJP was of the view that since the seven-day official mourning period was ending today, there will be forward movement on the government formation in the state which is under Governor’s rule since last Friday following the demise of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. “We had received a letter from the…

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Need to review how much of Mufti’s vision was fulfilled in 9 months: PDP

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As impasse continues over government formation, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Wednesday said the party will review how much “it has achieved vis-à-vis fulfilling development vision” of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed during nine months alliance with BJP. “Mufti sahab had a vision for making J&K a modern state. Due to his death, his vision is yet to be realised. The party under the leadership of Mehbooba Mufti will need to review how much we have succeeded to fulfill Mufti Sahab’s vision so far,” senior PDP leader and former education minister, Naeem Akhtar…

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Mehbooba’s Shakespearean dilemma and the number game

Editor

Following the death of Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is left with 28 MLAs and even if the party allies with Congress for government formation and gets the support of all independent MLAs, who are not backed by the rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), they would still fall short of one seat. Following Mufti’s death, PDP, which had won 28 seats in the 2014 Legislative Assembly polls and added one more to the kitty with the nomination of Anjum Fazili as one of the two nominated MLAs, is…

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