Situation in Kashmir not conducive for polls: Omar

Agencies
July 9, 2018

Jammu, Jul 9: National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah today reiterated his demand for dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and said the situation in Kashmir is not conducive for polls.

His party, however, would take part in the democratic exercise whenever it is held, he added.

“The National Conference has gone on record to demand the dissolution of the assembly. It is the cure for all the rumours about horse trading, splitting of political parties and government formation," Abdullah told reporters here.

“We will contest the elections whenever they are held. The reality is that the situation in Jammu may be conducive for polls but the situation in Kashmir is very grave,” the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister added.

The NC, Abdullah said, does not demand immediate elections as it understands that it will take time to create a conducive climate.

When asked whether the NC would move the Supreme Court for dissolution of the assembly, he said it is something that the party has not yet decided.

Speaking about the speculations about the BJP trying to form the government in the state again with rebel PDP MLAs, Abdullah said he would go by senior BJP leader Ram Madhav's tweet wherein he denied the reports.

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Saturday said his party was for continuing with governor's rule in the state in the interest of peace, governance and development.

His comments came after Abdullah tweeted a news report that claimed "a big chunk of PDP MLAs are in touch with the BJP high command."

Abdullah said the BJP's state unit, however, was telling people otherwise.

"Let us see who is right and who is wrong,” he said.

When asked if the BJP had reached out to him for government formation, the NC leader replied in the negative.

He asserted his party was not indulging in horse trading and would not have any role in disintegration of the PDP.

Abdullah rejected the BJP's claim that the situation in the Valley had improved since the imposition of the governor's rule.

"A few days ago, three civilians were killed in the Kulgam district. I don't see any improvement in the situation. The militant activities too haven't gone down," he said.

"May be sitting in Delhi they feel that the situation is improving, but I don't think so sitting here in Kashmir," he added.

He refused to comment on media speculation about the Islamic State gaining a foothold in Kashmir.

The NC leader said Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra should work to restore the peace that prevailed in the state during the tenure of his government.

“The atmosphere of brotherhood in the Jammu region, for which my government worked between 2009 and 2014, needs to be restored. There is a world of difference between the prevailing situation and that of 2014," Abdullah said.

The situation, he added, had only worsened.

The NC leader blamed the erstwhile PDP-BJP government for the mess in the state.

“Today they are admitting that the government and Mehbooba Mufti as chief minister failed. This is what we were saying for three years. It was an inept government run by inefficient people,” he said.

The former chief minister said allegations of corruption against the ministers of the PDP-BJP government had come to light and his party would take them up with Vohra.

“Many people have reached out to us and levelled allegations of corruption against ministers of the previous government. All these will be taken up with the governor and we hope there will be a fair probe," he said.

Abdullah asked the NC leaders and workers to reach out to the people across the state.

He asked them to generate awareness about the NC's mission, which, he said, is not to come to power in the state but to steer it out of its problems, ensure equitable development in all regions and maintain brotherhood.

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News Network
July 21,2020

New Delhi, Jul 21: With a spike of 37,148 cases and 587 deaths reported in India in the last 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 cases stands at 11,55,191, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of cases include 4,02,529 active cases, 7,24,578 cured/discharged/migrated and 28,084 deaths, the ministry informed.

Maharashtra remains the worst affected state with 3,18,695 cases and 12,030 deaths.
The second worst-hit state, Tamil Nadu has reported 1,75,678 COVID-19 cases so far while Delhi has reported 1,23,747 cases, according to the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, as per the information provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 1,43,81,303 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to July 20. Of these 3,33,395 were tested yesterday.

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Agencies
February 25,2020

New Delhi, Feb 25: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday told a meeting of Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and party leaders that "professional assessment" is that the violence in north-east Delhi has been "spontaneous".

He also said adequate forces have been already deployed in affected areas even as he urged political parties to avoid provocative speeches and statements which could flare up the situation and desist from rumour-mongering. He also instructed Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to re-activate local peace committees. 

"Shah noted that the professional assessment is that the violence in the capital has been spontaneous. He expressed confidence in Delhi Police and said that the force has shown maximum restraint to get the situation under control," a statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

However, on Monday, government sources had claimed that violence in the national capital "appeared to be orchestrated" to coincide with the high-profile visit. A PTI report from Hyderabad on Tuesday also quoted Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy as saying that the violence in Delhi has been perpetrated intentionally and the Narendra Modi government would not tolerate such incidents. 

While Shah said adequate forces have been deployed, there were also reports that the Delhi Police Commissioner told MHA top brass that it did not have adequate forces to control the violence that erupted in north-east Delhi. However, Delhi Police later tweeted that the Commissioner has denied that "no such information was given to MHA" and such reports were "totally baseless". 

Urging parties to avoid provocative speeches and statements which could flare up the situation, the statement said, Shah expressed confidence in Delhi Police and said that the force has shown maximum restraint to get the situation under control.

Appealing to all to maintain restraint and desist from rumour-mongering while instructing the Delhi Police Commissioner to re-activate local peace committees, Shah said Delhi's borders with Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have been under surveillance for the last three days. 

Shah also urged parties to ask their local leaders to hold meetings in sensitive areas and instructed senior police officers to visit vulnerable police stations at the earliest

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News Network
April 11,2020

New Delhi, Apr 11: As India battles the Covid-19 crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a video conference with chief ministers primarily to take their feedback on whether the 21-nation-wide lockdown be extended beyond April 14 to stem the tide of the infections.

The Central government is understood to have also obtained views on the issue from all the relevant agencies and stakeholders involved in the efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic.

The video conference, which began at 11am, comes amidst indications that the central government may extend the nationwide lockdown with some possible relaxations even as Punjab and Odisha have already announced extending the lockdown beyond April 14 when the current spell of 21-day shutdown across the country ends on Tuesday.

The Union Home Ministry has sought views of state governments on various aspects, including whether more categories of people and services need to be exempted. In the current lockdown only essential services are exempted.

This is for the second time the prime minister is interacting with the chief ministers via video link after the lockdown was imposed.

During his April 2 interaction with chief ministers, Modi had pitched for a "staggered" exit from the ongoing lockdown.

A PTI tally of numbers reported by various states as on Thursday at 9.30pm showed a total of 7,510 having been affected by the virus nationwide so far with at least 251 deaths. More than 700 have been cured and discharged. However, the last update from the Union Health Ministry put the number of confirmed infections at 7,447 and the death toll at 239.

Addressing floor leaders of various parties who have representation in Parliament, Modi had on Wednesday made it clear that the lockdown cannot be lifted in one go, asserting that the priority of his government is to "save each and every life".

According to an official statement after the Wednesday interaction, the prime minister told these leaders that states, district administrations and experts have suggested extension of the lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.

Before the lockdown was announced on March 24, the prime minister had interacted with the chief ministers on March 20 to discuss ways and means to check the spread of the novel coronavirus.

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