Rift between J&K CM, Srinagar MP widens
All doesn't seem well between Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and National Conference (NC) MP from Srinagar Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi.
While the NC denied that Mehdi had walked out of the party's working body meeting last week, the sarcastic poetry posted by him on X smacks of defiance by the outspoken MP. 'Either rise and become such a 'sukhanvar' (orator/poet/speaker) who serves a purpose for the nation; Or sit in the comfort of the 'zanpaan' (palanquin),' he posted in translation of a Kashmiri couplet.
Mehdi posted the couplet hours after NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar criticised an online portal for reporting that the MP had walked out of the working committee meeting after an argument with Abdullah last Wednesday.
'Shameful that a reputable outlet would publish such a planted story without cross-checking with the party. Contrary to false claims, Aga Ruhullah did not walk out of the meeting — in fact, he was present from morning till evening,' Nabi said.
According to reports, Mehdi was upset with the party toning down its promise of struggling for the restoration of Article 370 and cosying up to the Centre. Abdullah had retorted that Mehdi should fight the byelection and be part of the government.
Mehdi feels that his party has not lived up to the manifesto on which it won the election last year. 'We feel that there is a gap between what people want and what these political parties represent. This is a language that comes from Delhi. It is not the language of people of Jammu and Kashmir. We were on the same page. I feel lost after the elections. We are somehow justifying the narrative we fought against. We are defeating the reason for which we got the mandate,' Mehdi said in an interview, the clip of which he uploaded on X on Friday.
The differences between the CM and the MP first emerged when Mehdi led a protest of students along with opposition leaders against the new reservation policy soon after the elections. Mehdi said since the protest, there has been virtually no communication of the party with him.
'Until the assembly elections, my opinions mattered. Even if the party disagreed with my methods, it supported my ideas. But after the reservation protest, the party has stopped engaging with me,' Mehdi had said in April.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scroll.in
34 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
Centre seeks report from West Bengal after sharp decline in students availing mid-day meals
The Centre has sought a report from the West Bengal government after official figures showed that more than 40% of students did not avail mid-day meals under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme in 2024-'25 in the state, The Indian Express reported on Thursday. Citing the latest minutes of the Programme Approval Board under the scheme, the newspaper reported that 10 lakh fewer students availed the scheme in 2025-'26 as compared to 2023-'24. The Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman, a centrally-sponsored scheme, is aimed at providing nutritious meals to students enrolled in government and aided schools. According to the Programme Approval Board, more than 40% of the students enrolled in the scheme did not avail the mid-day meal in 2024-'25 in 15 districts in the state. Cooch Behar had the least coverage at 46%. The Programme Approval Board also stated that there had been a reduction of 4.01 lakh in students enrolment in the scheme from 2023-'24 to 2024-'25, according to the newspaper. There was a reduction of 8.04 lakh in actual student coverage, it added. The minutes added that the proposed enrolment for 2025-'26 in the state also dropped by 6 lakh students. 'The PAB [Programme Approval Board] expressed that efforts may be made to cover all the eligible students under the [mid-day meal] scheme,' The Indian Express quoted the minutes as saying. Coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman at the pre-primary level was 78%, while it stood at 74% at the primary level, the Programme Approval Board said. However, the number fell sharply to 58% at the upper primary level. The data showed that 1,13,44,146 students were enrolled under the scheme in 2024-'25 but only 77,91,946, or about 69%, received the mid-day meals, The Indian Express reported. In 2025-'26, coverage has been approved for 80,16,881 students, the minutes stated. The Programme Approval Board also claimed that a few schools, implementing agencies and municipal corporations were still holding funds outside Single Nodal Agency accounts, or bank accounts established by a state government for a specific centrally-sponsored scheme. 'The state has been advised to transfer these funds immediately and take action against officials responsible for the delays and violations of Government of India guidelines,' The Indian Express quoted the minutes as saying. In light of the minutes, the additional secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Union government expressed 'serious concern' about this trend and sought a report from the West Bengal government by June 30.
India Today
41 minutes ago
- India Today
A brief political history of Operation Bluestar
News: On June 5, 1984, the Indian Army launched Operation Bluestar to remove Sikh militants from Amritsar's Golden Temple. The militants, led by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, were spearheading an armed movement for a separate Sikh state, called Khalistan (the land of the pure).Pre-Independence RootsBefore India's independence, Sikhs had explored the idea of a separate nation. When the British government's Cripps Mission visited India in 1942 to negotiate self-governance, the Akali Dal, led by figures like Baba Kharak Singh, met at Amritsar, accepting the inevitability of partition and arguing for a Sikh state from the River Jhelum to the River Sutlej. The British dismissed the of a DiasporaIn 1971, Jagjit Singh Chauhan, a former Punjab finance minister, revived the Sikh Home Rule Movement in the UK, renaming it Khalistan. He set up a self-styled embassy, printing stamps, currency, and passports. Allegedly supported by elements in Pakistan, he rallied the Sikh diaspora. On October 12, 1971, a half-page advertisement in The New York Times, reportedly authored by Chauhan and allegedly funded by Pakistan's ISI, called for a buffer state, Khalistan, as 'the only guarantee for peace in the subcontinent.' Few took it seriously.A Silent BurialIn 1966, responding to Sikh demands, the government reorganised Punjab on linguistic lines, creating today's Punjab. It comprised Jullundur (Jalandhar), Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Amritsar, Patiala, Bhatinda, Kapurthala, and parts of Gurdaspur, Ambala, and Sangrur. The new state, with a Sikh majority and Punjabi as the primary language, housed most of India's Sikhs. With the Centre acquiescing to the demand for a Punjabi suba (state), the clamour for a state for the Sikhs Singh and a Sacred HorseadvertisementIn 1972, Giani Zail Singh, later President of India, became Punjab's Chief Minister. To appeal to Sikh voters, he launched initiatives rooted in Sikh religious sentiment, including symbolically bringing a horse from Britain, claimed as a descendant of one ridden by Guru Gobind Akali Dal, self-anointed political representatives of the Sikhs, countered by gathering at Anandpur Sahib, where the Khalsa tradition began, issuing demands for Punjab's greater Anandpur Sahib ResolutionSirdar Kapur Singh, a former Indian Civil Service officer dismissed after Independence, helped draft the 1973 Anandpur Sahib Resolution. It sought greater autonomy for Punjab, proposing to limit the Centre's role to defence, external affairs, and currency, though its scope remains debated. Later modified, it focused on demands like more water and the transfer of Chandigarh-–a Union Territory– to Punjab. The resolution faded when the Akalis won the 1977 Punjab elections but was revived after their 1980 loss to Congress. It was bolstered by Bhindranwale's rise as jathedar (leader) of the Damdami Taksal, a seminary near BhindranwaleThe Sikh preacher highlighted concerns among Sikhs about demographic changes and the erosion of their distinct identity. He played on the fear among Sikhs that Hindus would soon outnumber them, and their independent identity would be erased. Publicly ambiguous on Khalistan, he said he was neither for nor against it, yet claimed Sikhs could no longer live in of his followers, Balbir Singh Sandhu, called himself secretary-general of a self-proclaimed national council of Khalistan. He kept a handwritten Constitution of Khalistan, which he read out to anyone who cared to listen. In Sandhu's mind, Khalistan was a religious state with communist ideals—a kind of Communist Israel for the political rivalries between Congress and the Akalis deepened Hindu-Sikh tensions, fracturing decades of Yudh MorchaOn April 24, 1982, the Akalis launched an agitation against the Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal, a project to supply water to neighbouring states. The project was launched by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself at a place called Kapuri (the agitation was also called Kapuri Morcha). At the start of June, the protest against the canal turned into a civil disobedience movement. By June, it became a civil disobedience Bhindranwale launched his Front from the Golden Temple, demanding the release of arrested All India Sikh Students' Federation members. On August 4, 1982, he and the Akalis united under the Dharam Yudh Morcha (religious struggle), courting arrest to press for the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. Bhindranwale moved to Guru Nanak Niwas, a hostel near the Golden Bhindranwale shifted to Guru Nanak Niwas, a hostel behind the east gate of the Golden Temple. Hundreds of followers joined him. Most of them were members of the All India Sikh Students' Federation, and Nihangs baptised by him at his seminary. His guardsmen were drawn from former army and police personnel. Taking advantage of the chaos, some hardened criminals and smugglers operating in Punjab also took refuge in the BluestarOn December 15, 1983, fearing arrest, Bhindranwale shifted to the Golden Temple complex. By late 1983, turf wars between rival Sikh militant groups turned its corridors into followers were linked to a wave of violence in Punjab, spreading fear amid rumours of hit lists and an imminent Khalistan declaration, allegedly backed by Punjab spiraling and her 'Iron Lady' image at stake, Indira Gandhi ordered the Army into the Golden June 5, 1984, Operation Bluestar unfolded as tanks rolled in, culminating in a tragic confrontation that left deep scars on the Sikh community and India's Watch
Hans India
2 hours ago
- Hans India
Centre defends OCI cancellation in HC
New Delhi: The Centre has defended in the Delhi High Court its decision to cancel the OCI card of US-based journalist Raphael Satter saying he maligned Indian institutions in the international arena through journalistic activities. The Centre said it was satisfied that Satter conducted journalistic activities without waiting for necessary permission and violated the government's notification and that a 'discreet' lookout circular (LOC) was opened against him. 'It has been reported by security agencies that Raphael has been noted for acts of maliciously creating adverse and biased opinions against Indian institutions in the international arena through his journalistic activities and a discreet LOC was opened against him,' the Ministry of Home Affairs said in an affidavit. The Centre said that his revision petition was as a result disposed of and a speaking order dated May 24, 2024 held that there were no grounds to revise the overseas citizen of India (OCI) cancellation order. The Union ministry's affidavit came in response to Satter's plea against the cancellation of his OCI card. Justice Sachin Datta, who is hearing the matter, granted liberty to Satter to file a rejoinder to the government's reply and posted the hearing on August 25. Satter obtained the OCI status through his marriage and claimed he visited India for family purposes. The Ministry said it was brought to its notice through security agencies that Satter had attended Nullcon conference in Goa in September 2022 and the focus of the conference was to showcase the next generation of offensive and defensive security technology. Without necessary permission, he attended the conference and conducted journalistic activities, therefore, violating the provision of the ministry's notification, it said. OCI card holders or other foreigners visiting India, it said, were supposed to adhere to the laws of the country, meaning, the activities they are prohibited from under the category of visa or OCI guidelines. 'An OCI cardholder is a foreigner and OCI card is a life-long visa issued to such a foreigner. Every country has a sovereign right to refuse entry into its territory to any individual whom it may consider undesirable and informing about the same inasmuch as entry into any country's territory is not a matter of right, even if the person holds a valid visa,' the affidavit said. Citizens of India, the government said, were guaranteed fundamental right of speech and free movement, but foreigners or citizens of other countries were not entitled to such rights. Since OCI card holders are foreigners and citizens of another country, they cannot claim the right to free speech, movement and protest under the Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, the ministry added. It came on record that before initiating cancellation of the OCI proceedings, the ministry consulted security agencies and also the Ministry of External Affairs. After examining the petitioner's activities, his OCI card was found liable to be cancelled. 'Therefore, on June 12, 2023, this ministry (MHA) served a 'notice' to the petitioner through the High Commission of India in Washington DC to showcause as to why his OCI card may not be reports received from security agencies are 'secret' in nature, therefore, it cannot be disclosed to the petitioner,' the affidavit said. Though Satter submitted his reply to the ministry notice, the government claimed, he did not submit documents to establish he did not carry out any journalistic activity aside from showing his whereabouts and activities during his India visit. The MHA, however, said the reports received from the security agencies and the MEA provided 'enough inputs' indicating he had 'willfully violated' the provision of the 2021 notification. Satter, in his revision petition filed in January, 2024 before the MHA under the Citizenship Act, challenged his OCI cancellation order of December 4, 2023. On April 23, 2024 he claimed of not having carried out any journalistic activity, but the ministry claimed otherwise.
