BJP agrees to maintain status quo on Article 370

March 2, 2015

Jammu, Mar 2: PDP chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed called for peace Sunday after taking oath as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, heading a coalition that brought the BJP to power for the first time in India's only Muslim-majority state.

Sayeed sworn

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders Amit Shah and L.K. Advani were among the 1,400 guests who witnessed the ceremony, over two months after the PDP and the BJP won 28 and 25 seats respectively in a hung verdict that exposed deep divisions between the Muslim and Hindu areas.

After taking oath in English, Sayeed, 79, warmly hugged Modi and sat close to him on a flower-decked stage at the Jammu University's General Zorawar Singh auditorium to witness the entire ceremony.

Later, addressing the media, Sayeed said he had told Modi that peace was a must if Jammu and Kashmir had to prosper.

He said the Modi government must address the need for a dialogue between India and Pakistan, two countries which dispute the ownership of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiris, he said, must be involved in the process.

In an indication as to what he desired, Sayeed lavished praise on former prime minister and now ailing BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee for starting a peace process with Pakistan in 2003 - when Sayeed was chief minister the first time.

And in comments that would not have pleased many BJP supporters, he credited Pakistan, the separatist Hurriyat group and militants for what he said was a peaceful ballot in November-December last year.

"The PDP-BJP government is a historic opportunity to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and take the state to new heights of progress," Modi tweeted.

The National Conference and the Congress stayed away from the oath-taking ceremony.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah took a dig at BJP ministers for taking oath to uphold the Jammu and Kashmir constitution - the only Indian state to have its own constitution and a flag.

Son of a religious preacher from the Kashmir Valley, Sayeed will head the government of his Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, and will be the chief minister for all of six years.

BJP leader Nirmal Singh will be the deputy chief minister. He said the two parties would provide a stable government.

Former separatist leader Sajjad Gani Lone took oath as a BJP ally, and then warmly hugged Modi and Sayeed, triggering thunderous applause.

Inclusive of Sayeed, the PDP will have 11 cabinet berths and the BJP six, Lone included. The PDP and BJP have three and five junior ministers respectively. Two of the junior ministers are women: Priya Sethi (BJP) and Asiya Naqash (PDP).

The PDP cabinet ministers are Abdul Rehman Bhat Veeri, Javaid Mustafa Mir, Abdul Haq Khan, Syed Basharat Bukhari, Chowdhary Zulfiqar Ali, Haseeb Drabu, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, Altaf Bukhari, Imran Raza Ansari and Naeem Akhtar.

The BJP's cabinet members are Nirmal Singh, Chander Prakash, Choudhary Lal Singh, Bali Baghat, Sukhnandan Kumar and Lone (Peoples Conference).

The junior ministers are Chering Dorjay, Sunil Kumar Sharma, Abdul Ghani Kohli, Priya Sethi and Pawan Gupta (all BJP) and Abdul Majeed Paddar, Muhammad Ashraf Mir and Asiya Naqash (all PDP).

In the evening, the PDP and the BJP released a common minimum programme (CMP), promising to transform Jammu and Kashmir as "the most ethical state ... from the present day position of being the most corrupt state".

The CMP promised "genuine autonomy of institutions of probity", and "a sustained and meaningful dialogue" for peace with "all internal stakeholders ... irrespective of ideological views and predilections".

It revealed the continuing difference of opinion between the two parties on the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which gives sweeping powers to armed forces in the state. The PDP wants it to go.

This is the second time Sayeed heads a coalition government in Kashmir. He took power in 2002, heading a PDP-Congress alliance, for three years.

The Kashmir verdict brought about a clear divide between the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley and the Hindu-dominated Jammu region, with the PDP winning almost all its seats in the valley and the BJP sweeping Jammu.

This is the first time the BJP is tasting power in Jammu and Kashmir, where a separatist campaign which has raged since 1989 has left thousands dead.

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March 16,2024

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New Delhi: The 2024 general election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases from April 19, Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar said today, announcing the largest democratic exercise in the world. Results will be announced on June 4.

The seven phases: 
April 19
April 26
May 7
May 13
May 20
May 25
June 1

Simultaneous election for Lok Sabha and assembly will be held in four states -- Sikkim, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra.  

By-elections will also be held for 26 assembly seats across multiple states, including Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Mr Kumar, announcing the dates, sent out a strong message on fake news on social media, saying political parties should ensure responsible social media behaviour -- "verify before you amplify".

"Fake news will be dealt with severely as per existent laws.. Section 79 (3)(B) of the IT Act empowers nodal officers in each state to remove unlawful content," he said.

The other strong message was on violation of model code in terms of hate speeches. "There should be issue-based campaign, no hate speeches, no speeches along caste or religious lines, no criticism of anyone's personal lives," he said.

The media must clarify when they carry political adverts, those cannot masquerade as news, he said. Individual messages regarding this would be sent to the candidates, he added.

The commission has employed 2,100 advisors to keep an eye on these issues and strong action will be taken regarding this, he said.

Voters above the age of 85 years and persons with disabilities, with 40 per cent disability can vote from home, Mr Kumar said. Around 82 lakh voter are above the age of 85, he said.

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March 15,2024

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Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi would formally kickstart the BJP's Lok Sabha election campaign in Karnataka on Saturday from Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's home turf— Kalaburagi.

He is scheduled to address a mega public meeting at the district headquarters town's N V Ground at 2 pm.

Kharge, who had represented Kalaburagi (Gulbarga Lok Sabha segment) twice in the past, lost to BJP's Umesh Jadhav by a margin of 95,452 votes in the 2019 general elections here— the octogenarian leader's first electoral loss in his political life spanning several decades.

BJP has once again fielded Jadhav from the segment.

Speculations are rife that the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, who has the role of managing the party nationally and coordinating with the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc, may not contest the coming polls and, instead, the Congress is likely to field his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani, a businessman, who also manages educational institutions.

On March 18, Modi will be in Shivamogga, the home district of veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, and is scheduled to address a huge public meeting at 2 pm.

Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra is the sitting MP from Shivamogga and has been re-nominated by the party. Yediyurappa's other son B Y Vijayendra, who represents Shikaripura assembly constituency in the district, is the state BJP President.

BJP has announced candidates for 20 seats in the State, which has a total of 28 constituencies.

After being ousted from power by the Congress in the 2023 Assembly polls, the BJP now is making a strong bid to regain the lost ground in Karnataka.

The BJP won 25 out of total 28 seats in the previous elections, and had ensured the win of a party supported independent candidate in Mandya. The then ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance had come a cropper winning just one seat each.

It is a role reversal of sorts for JD(S), which joined the NDA last September and has forged an electoral alliance with the BJP. The regional party is expected to contest in three seats— Mandya, Hassan and Kolar.

Sharing details of Modi's visit, state BJP General Secretary Sunil Kumar on Wednesday said BJP National President J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath along with other leaders will visit different Lok Sabha constituencies for campaigning in the coming days.

Speaking about the party's poll preparations, he said: "We have divided 28 Lok Sabha constituencies into eight clusters for Lok Sabha elections. Keeping in view the local political and geographical background, programmes and strategies are being worked out in those eight clusters."

Several senior leaders including Shah and Nadda have already visited one of these clusters, Kumar said, adding, "Workers' convention, well-wishers' contacts have been made and election preparations are on in all these eight clusters. In the second phase, large public meetings will be held."

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March 19,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 19: The Supreme Court today came down heavily on Patanjali Ayurved for failing to respond to a contempt notice for issuing misleading advertisements and ordered yoga guru Ramdev to appear before it.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah also summoned Patanjali managing director Acharya Balkrishna.

The Supreme Court last month pulled up Patanjali for prima facie violation of its assurances about its products and statements claiming their medicinal efficacy. The court had issued a notice to Patanjali and Balkrishna, asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.

It noted today that Patanjali did not file a response even though it had held a press conference after its previous order. "Why haven't you filed your response yet? We will ask the managing director to appear in the court during the next hearing," the court said.

The order states both Ramdev and Balakrishna were prima facie in violation of Sections 3 and 4 of the Drugs and Remedies Act, which deal with misleading ads of medicines.

The court also issued a contempt notice to Ramdev, co-founder of Patanjali, and asked him to explain why he should not face action for contempt of court.

Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Patanjali Ayurved, opposed the move and sought to know, "How Ramdev comes into the picture?"

"You are appearing. We will see on the next date. Enough," the court replied.

"We had our hands tied earlier but not now. As an officer of the court, you (Mr Rohatgi) should know your position," said Justice Amanullah.

The court was hearing a petition by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging a smear campaign by Ramdev against the vaccination drive and modern medicines.

On February 27, it had issued a contempt notice to Patanjali and cautioned them against from making any statements against any system of medicine in the media. It had also pulled up the centre for not taking action and said they were sitting with their eyes closed.

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