General News Archives | Page 99 of 362

Centre to Supreme Court: J&K polls can be held anytime, Statehood timeline undecided

August 31, 2023 Editor

The Union government on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it is ready for elections at any time in Jammu and Kashmir. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, said that the process of updating the voter list is substantially over. Mehta said that the legislative assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are likely to be held after panchayat polls and municipal polls. It is, however, for the State Election Commission and the Central Election Commission to decide which election should take place first, he added. “There are three…

Amarnath Yatra Concludes Peacefully, Over 4.5 Lakh Pilgrims Visit Cave Shrine

August 31, 2023 Editor

Chhari Mubarak (the holy mace) reached Panchtarni and will proceed towards the holy cave shrine on Thursday for the final puja to make the formal end of the 62-day-long Amarnath Yatra 2023. The last batch of yatris left for the cave shrine on August 23 and since then, the pilgrimage has remained suspended, an official said. He said that during the beginning of the yatra this year, there was a good rush of pilgrims; however, later it started declining with each passing day, forcing the authorities to suspend the yatra…

Kashmir’s Pain Can Only Be Healed by the Return of Pandits: Mehbooba Mufti

August 31, 2023 Editor

Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday visited the ancient Thajiwara temple and met Kashmiri Pandits in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The former chief minister advocated for the return of Kashmiri migrant Pandits and said that the “Painful situation” will dissipate after that. Mufti extended her wishes to Kashmiri Pandits on the occasion of their annual hawan to mark Raksha Bandhan at the temple in Bijbehara. “Despite being a Muslim-majority state, Kashmir has long been celebrated for its co-existence and shared heritage. The visit by Mufti underlined this spirit…

Article 370 Case: Supreme Court Questions J&K Bifurcation, Citing Punjab and Northeast

August 31, 2023 Editor

The Supreme Court of India on the twelfth day of hearing petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir noted that the reorganisation of the state was not ‘one of a kind’ as was pointed out by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The five judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant noted that the case of Jammu and Kashmir bifurcation was no different than other Indian…

Article 35A: The Debate Continues in the Supreme Court

August 30, 2023 Editor

Article 35A empowered Jammu and Kashmir’s legislature to decide who the erstwhile state’s permanent residents were The ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court on petitions challenging the centre’s 2019 decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status has brought Article 35A of the Constitution back into the spotlight. What was Article 35A? Article 35A empowered Jammu and Kashmir’s legislature to decide who the erstwhile state’s permanent residents were and to extend special rights and privileges to them. This was added to the Constitution in 1954 by a presidential…

Centre to Issue Statement on J&K Statehood Question in Supreme Court on Thursday

August 29, 2023 Editor

The Supreme Court, hearing a batch of petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370, asked the central government to give a timeframe on the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a timeframe from the Centre to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, currently bifurcated into two Union Territories (UTs), and a roadmap for this progression. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370, which granted special powers…

Rising Unrest within Kashmir BJP Raises Concerns of Revolt

August 29, 2023 Editor

Kashmir BJP leaders are apparently discontent with new leaders from Jammu taking over key positions within the party in the Valley. The Jammu and Kashmir unit of Bharatiya Janata Party is facing rebellion in Kashmir again, days after the situation was pacified by state unit chief Ravinder Raina. Jammu and Kashmir BJP in-charge Tarun Chugh is said to have stepped in to tackle th situation. Sources within the party told that BJP national general secretary and Jammu and Kashmir BJP in-charge Tarun Chugh spoke to BJP Jammu and Kashmir president…

Supreme Court Hearing on Article 370: Centre says Statehood of J&K will be Restored

August 29, 2023 Editor

As SG appeared to be critical of previous governments, CJI told him that he was representing Government of India and in constitutional theory, Government of India was a perpetual entity Maintaining that the current status Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory was temporary, the Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that its statehood will be restored. “It’s necessary that for some time it (J&K) remains under the Union as a Union Territory. The Hon’ble Home Minister has said in the House that this is a temporary measure. Ultimately,…

Supreme Court Strikes Down Article 35A, Says It Violated Fundamental Rights of Indians

August 29, 2023 Editor

Article 35A, which granted special rights to permanent residents of the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, took away a bundle of fundamental rights of the people of India, the Supreme Court observed on Monday, while hearing the matter of the abrogation of Article 370 and the restructuring of J& K into two Union territories. According to a Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Article 35A, which was added to the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954, denuded people of at least three fundamental…

Dalit IAS Officer Alleges Harassment, Humiliation by Lt Governor, Chief Secretary

August 29, 2023 Editor

In a major development, a Dalit whistle blower IAS officer Ashok Kumar Parmar has knocked the doors of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) against Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and chief secretary Arun Mehta for “inflicting harassment and humiliation upon him.” The 1992 AGMUT cadre IAS Parmar who had highlighted “irregularities” in implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Jammu and Kashmir, in a complaint to the chairman NCSC has alleged that he was also being frequently transferred for his being a scheduled caste solely for the reason that he…