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India imposed by far the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world in 2022, internet advocacy watchdog Access Now said on Tuesday, as the country topped the list for the fifth successive year. Out of 187 internet shutdowns globally recorded by Access Now, 84 took place in India, including 49 in Jammu and Kashmir, the New York-based digital rights advocacy group said in a report published on Tuesday. "Authorities disrupted internet access at least 49 times in Kashmir due to political instability and violence, including a string of 16 back-to-back orders for three-day-long curfew-style shutdowns in January and February 2022," the watchdog report added. Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between India and archrival Pakistan, which claim the region in full but rule only parts. In August 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped the autonomy of the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir, splitting it into two federally...

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi arrived in the UK on Tuesday to kick off his week-long tour with an address at the University of Cambridge and also hold discussions with Indian groups in London. The Opposition MP, who is a Visiting Fellow of the Cambridge Judge Business School (Cambridge JBS), will deliver a student-only lecture at the university on the subject of "Learning to Listen in the 21st Century'. The business school has also indicated Mr Gandhi's plans to hold "closed-door sessions" on 'Big Data and Democracy' and 'India-China relations' with Professor Shruti Kapila, an Indian-origin Fellow, Tutor and Director of Studies at the university's Corpus Christi College and Co-Director of the Global Humanities Initiative. "Our @CambridgeMBA programme is pleased to welcome India's leading Opposition leader and MP Rahul Gandhi of the Indian National Congress," Cambridge JBS tweeted on Tuesday. "He will speak today...

In an apparent case of suicide, a CRPF jawan was found dead with a bullet injury inside a camp in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said. The jawan was on sentry duty inside Tain Bridge camp in Nowshera area when he allegedly shot himself with his service rifle at around 2.45 am, they said. The reason behind the apparent suicide is not known yet. Police have started inquest proceedings in the matter, they said. A resident of Kerala, the jawan was recently posted in Rajouri following additional deployment of 18 companies to strengthen security in the aftermath of the January 1 Dhangri terror attack that left seven civilians dead and 14 others injured. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) (Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.) Read full article

Launching a fierce attack against the Centre over the recent targeted killing of a Kashmiri Pandit in South Kashmir's Pulwama, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said that if the militancy is eroded from the Valley, as claimed by the Centre, then who killed Sanjay Sharma. The sharp reactions from Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief came while she visited Pulwama and met the family of Sanjay Sharma, a security guard, who was gunned down by terrorists when he was on his way to the local market. Ms Mufti also demanded Rs 5 lakh compensation to be paid to the three children of Sanjay Sharma. She said everyone is ashamed of the killing of Sanjay Sharma while at the same she aimed at the government for their crackdowns against Muslims in the name of eroding militancy. "Everyone [especially Muslims] is ashamed of the incident. We are those Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir, who during 1947, when Hindu-Muslim riots were happening all over the country, saved all the H...

Days after a Kashmiri Pandit was gunned down by terrorists in Pulwama, security forces killed one terrorist during an encounter in the district's Awantipora area in the early hours of Tuesday. Taking to Twitter, Kashmir Zone Police said, "Encounter has started at Padgampora Awantipora in Pulwama district. Police and security forces are on the job. Further details shall follow." Updating about the operation against the terrorists, Jammu and Kashmir Police said, "one terrorist was killed in the encounter. However, his body is yet to be retrieved." The encounter is underway. Further information is awaited. Earlier on Sunday terrorists in another targeted killing, fired upon a Kashmiri Pandit (Sanjay Sharma) while he was on his way to the local market in the Pulwama district. He was shifted to the hospital however, he succumbed to injuries. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Read ...

Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti or KPSS has called for a "brutal operation" against terrorists and their supporters in the Valley, a day after the killing of Kashmiri Pandit Sanjay Kumar by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. KPSS, an organization of Kashmiri Pandits living in the Valley, has also demanded replacing Jammu and Kashmir's Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps to protect Pandits in the Valley. In a strongly worked statement, the KPSS claims that a sizeable number of Kashmiri Muslims are working for terrorists responsible for killing of Kashmiri Pandits. "Decisions taken by the Government of India in August 2019 have exposed the Kashmiri Society and its social fabric. Two out of Ten have turned OGWs (over ground workers) for these terror Organisations who are responsible for the killing of Kashmiri Pandits and other religious minorities" said Sanjay Tikoo, president KPSS. The Pandit grou...

Hundreds of Kashmiris turned out for the last rites of Kashmiri Hindu Sanjay Sharma, who was shot dead by terrorists at a marketplace in Pulwama on Monday. Terrorists attacked and fatally shot Sanjay Sharma when he was on his way to the local market in Pulwama on Sunday. Senior police officers in the Pulwama district also attended the cremation ceremony of the killed security guard. A police officer said Sanjay Sharma was shot dead by terrorists in Achan area of Kashmir's Pulwama district on Sunday morning. A critically injured Sharma was rushed to a nearby hospital, with the help of locals. However, he succumbed to his bullet injuries. Earlier, suspected terrorists had opened fire on Asif Ganai, a local, outside a mosque in the Anantnag district. The man, however, survived the attack. Meanwhile, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti slammed the BJP at the Cenrre over the killing of the Kashmiri Pandit in Pulwama district. Ms Mufti said, "BJP has failed in protecting the lives of ou...

Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad's son Saddam Nabi Azad has joined active politics, party spokesperson said on Sunday. Saddam (41) was seen at the party's youth convention at Nigeen Club Sunday in the presence of his father and senior party leaders. While he shared the stage with the party leaders, he did not address the convention. It was his first public appearance in the Kashmir valley. Saddam, a businessman, is the eldest among the two siblings. He has studied in England. Sofiya Nabi Azad, his sister, has studied journalism. Party leaders said Saddam will play an active role in politics and focus on Jammu and Kashmir. "He will be in active politics now," DPAP chief spokesperson Salman Nizami told PTI. Asked if Saddam would get any responsibility in the party affairs, Nizami said the party will take a decision on the matter in due course of time. Addressing the rally, Azad said he asked his son to travel to the length and br...

Maradona, Pele, and Romario will be voting on Monday to choose between Balajied of the United Democratic Party Grace Mary Kharpuri of the National People's Party and Arena Hynniewta of the BJP  to represent them in the state assembly. Kashmir, Tibet, Sweden and Thailand will also join hands and participate in this festival of democracy in Meghalaya. Well! If you wonder how former football stars - Pele, Maradona, Romario besides singer Jim Reeves have voting rights in this hill state in India's North East, you are in for a surprise. These are the names of voters of Umniuh-Tmar Elaka and whose candidates also include Playness, Arena, Wellborn and Grace contesting from Shella assembly constituency in East Khasi Hills district. Assembly Rynga, 28, and Meghalaya Khongtim, 45, will also be voting today as well as first time voters Border, Complan and Repentance. Sisters Promiseland and Holyland Dkhar and their neighbour Jerusalem Khiewtam will also actively participate in the a...

The ruling DMK is making preparations to celebrate the 70th birthday of party president and Chief Minister M K Stalin on March 1 in a grand style and a slew of events has been lined up which include gift of gold rings to new-borns, welfare programmes, public meetings and sporting events. A public meeting, in which senior political leaders including Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge are set to take part, would be held here and the party's South district unit is organising it. Jammu Kashmir National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar Deputy CM and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav would participate. Stalin would be felicitated by the leaders and DMK general secretary Duraimurugan and treasurer T R Baalu are among the party leaders who would be present to honour the party chief at the YMCA ground here. Thousands of party workers are set to take part in the rally here. DMK tweeted, "We take great pleasure in invitin...

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said he has never owned a house and noted that this experience had helped him "change" his Bharat Jodo Yatra and connect with the people. Addressing the Congress plenary session in Nava Raipur in Chhattisgarh, Gandhi said he wanted everyone who joined the Yatra to feel that they were coming home. He recalled the incident in 1977 when his family was preparing to leave their government accommodation. "There was a strange atmosphere in the house. I went to mummy and asked her what happened. Ma told me that we are leaving the house. "Till that time I used to think it was our house. So I asked my mother why we are leaving our house. Then my mom told me for the first time that it was not our house, but the government's and we have to leave it now," the Congress leader said. Rahul Gandhi said he asked his mother Sonia Gandhi where they would go next. "'Nahi maloom' (don't know) my mother said. I was take...

The Congress is considering a Pasighat-to-Porbandar yatra, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday after Rahul Gandhi called for taking the "tapasya" of the Bharat Jodo Yatra forward. Ramesh asserted that there was a lot of enthusiasm and energy among party workers for another yatra after the nearly 4,000-km Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir journey that was undertaken by Gandhi and scores of Congress persons from September last year to January this year. Ramesh told PTI that an east-to-west yatra, probably from Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh to Porbandar in Gujarat, was being considered but its format could be a bit different from the Bharat Jodo Yatra. "There is a lot of enthusiasm and energy. I also think personally it is needed but the format of the east-to-west yatra may turn out to be different from the format of the south-to-north Bharat Jodo Yatra," Ramesh said. It may not have such an elaborate infrastructure that was mobilised for the Bharat Jodo Yatr...

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said he learnt a lot during his just concluded months-long 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' during which he met people from all sections of the society. "During Bharat Jodo Yatra I learned a lot. I walked for my nation from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Thousands connected with me and other party leaders during the yatra. I listened to all problems of farmers and realised their pain," Rahul Gandhi, an MP from Kerala's Wayanad constituency, said on Sunday at the party's ongoing 85th Plenary Session in Raipur. The yatra began on September 7, 2022, from Kanyakumari and passed through 12 states, culminating in Jammu and Kashmir -- covering a total distance of about 4,000 kms over the course of four-and-a-half-months. He also mentioned Jammu and Kashmir leg of his yatra, saying that he felt like being at home when he reached there. "52 years passed and I still don't have a home, but when I reached Kashmir, it felt like home. The yatra was...

Terrorists have shot dead a Hindu civilian in a targeted attack in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Sunday. The victim was identified as Sanjay Sharma, a Kashmiri Hindu resident of Achan, who was critically injured after terrorists fired at him while he was on his way to the local market. He was shifted to the nearby government hospital where doctors declared him dead. Mr Sharma reportedly worked as a security guard at a bank. "Terrorists fired upon one civilian from minority namely Sanjay Sharma S/O Kashinath Sharma R/O Achan Pulwama while on way to local market," the Kashmir Zone police said in a tweet. Police say an armed guard has been deployed in the village for the protection of the minority community. This is the first attack on a Hindu civilian in last four months and the second targeted attack on a Kashmiri local in two days. A terrorist shot at and injured Asif Ali Ganai in Anantnag whose father, a police head constable, was killed in a...

Four alleged criminals, including the son of an ITBP officer, were arrested along with a country-made pistol and several sharp-edged weapons in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said. An investigation into a recent case related to criminal intimidation and weapon brandishing by a gang at Nathwal in Vijaypur led to the arrests, a police spokesperson said. He identified the arrested accused as Rohit, son of an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officer, and his associates Sunil Sharma alias "Kadu", Rajveer Gill and Ankush Sharma alias "Jallu" -- all residents of Vijaypur. "Rohit is the kingpin of the gang and is a notorious hooligan. He has previously been jailed for his involvement in various crimes, including attempt to murder, criminal intimidation and brandishing illegal weapons," the spokesperson said. Senior Superintendent of Police, Samba, Benam Tosh said with the arrest of the four accused, the weapon brandishing case of Nath...

A special court in Lucknow convicted eight suspected ISIS operatives in a terror conspiracy case, an official of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Saturday, adding their conviction was a "big shot" in the arm of the agency in its nationwide crackdown on members of the global terror group. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced by the special NIA court on Monday, a spokesperson of the federal agency said. The convicts were also involved in an explosion on board the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train on March 7, 2017, which hed left 10 people injured. The train explosion case is currently under trial, the spokesperson said. The eight convicts were arrested in 2017 in the "Kanpur conspiracy" case pertaining to planning of terror acts. The case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act. The case was initially registered on March 8 at ATS Police Statio...

The ceasefire between India and Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir completed two years this week, marking a rare period of peace between the two countries. While the relationship between India and Pakistan is going through a deep freeze, both sides have ensured that the ceasefire is strictly maintained, bringing a huge relief to people living on both sides of the de facto border who previously endured frequent firing and the destruction of homes. Over the last two years, there have been no casualties reported on either side in cross-border firing in Jammu and Kashmir. The army's robust counter-infiltration mechanism has also dramatically brought down the number of attempts of infiltration along the LoC. This marks a huge turnaround in the situation along the borders. In 2020, there were 5,000 ceasefire violations or cross-border firing incidents that caused deaths and the destruction of homes. However, over the last two years, there have been almost ze...

A teacher of a government school in Jammu and Kashmir has been suspended for a social media post "critical" of the government. Joginder Singh, a schoolteacher in Ramban district, allegedly posted some comments on his Facebook page criticising the Union Territory administration's policies. The action was taken a week after the administration warned government employees to avoid criticising the government on social media. According to an order issued by the administration, Mr Singh was suspended for violating government directions "regarding criticism of policies" on social media platforms. Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta had warned employees last week against criticising its policies on social media. Mr Mehta had asked all administrative secretaries to monitor social media activities of their employees and identify those criticising or commenting adversely on policies and achievements of the government. The administration, however, has not made a specific ...

Former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Amarjit Singh Dulat on Friday said while the Modi government's "muscular policy" is working and "militancy was down", the "idea of India" in Kashmir was being lost and that there is need for a "healing touch."  Speaking at a discussion about his book 'A Life in the Shadows', Mr Dulat also said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's unfurling of the national flag at Srinagar's Lal Chowk helped "the idea of India" being "promoted in Kashmir". "Government's muscular policy is working, militancy is down... what is being lost in Kashmir is the idea of India," Mr Dulat, who headed the Kashmir group in Intelligence Bureau in the 1990s, said at a function held here at the 100-year-old Oxford Bookstore. He also described Mr Gandhi's action of unfolding the tricolour in Srinagar, "regardless of whatever his motivations were", was the "only time...

Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik appeared via video-conferencing before a special court here on Friday and an eyewitness identified him in the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of then Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The eyewitness corroborated that he had gone to Sopore in Baramulla district of north Kashmir at the time of the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed and identified the place and persons connected with it, the prosecution said, terming it a major success for their side. Malik, who is lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail serving a jail term in a terror financing case, was not produced in the court physically due to a Ministry of Home Affairs order restricting his movement. "Today, there was a case of Yasin Malik with the special judge of TADA court with regard to Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case. We had summoned two eyewitnesses -- number 7 and number 13. The eyewitness number 13 was present in the court and the eyewitness number 7 ...

India slammed Pakistan after it referred to Jammu and Kashmir during a special session on Ukraine in the UN General Assembly, terming the provocation as “regrettable and misplaced” and calling out Islamabad's track record of harbouring and providing safe havens to terrorists with impunity. “I'm taking the floor today to say that India chooses this time not to respond to Pakistan's mischievious provocations. Our advice to the delegate of Pakistan is to refer to our numerous Rights of Reply that we have exercised in the past,” Counsellor in India's Permanent Mission to the UN Pratik Mathur said. Mr Mathur exercised India's Right of Reply on Thursday after Pakistan's envoy at the UN Munir Akram referred to Jammu and Kashmir while delivering the explanation of vote on the UN General Assembly resolution on Ukraine during the Emergency Special Session. "Pakistan has only to look at itself and its own track record as a state that harbours and provides safe have...

Tax resistance has become a rallying cry for all political parties in Jammu and Kashmir. Even the ruling BJP has distanced itself from the Union Territory administration's decision to levy property taxes in the former state.  After the controversial land eviction drive, which has dispossessed thousands of people from the state land they had cultivated and inhabited for generations, the government decision to impose property taxes from April has caused outrage. Jammu and Kashmir has been under direct central rule for nearly five years, and the frequent decisions taken by Lieutenant Governor's administration has irked political parties and caused fears among people.  As thousands gathered to listen Democratic Azad Party (DAP) chief Ghulam Nabi Azad at Larno in Anantnag district, the former chief minister took a dig at the administration for imposing property taxes.  "If they had control on air, they would have levied tax on it as well. Thank God it's not in their con...

The Jammu and Kashmir government should postpone the imposition of property tax for a few years till the economic situation in the union territory improves, DPAP chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad said today. He also said if his party is elected to power, it will bring back the Roshni Act under which ownership rights were given to occupants of state land. Speaking to reporters in Anantnag district of south Kashmir, Mr Azad said the economic situation in J&K over the last 35 years has become "bad" because of militancy. "Our unemployment, inflation has increased manifold. Our tourism, handicraft, horticulture, has suffered a great deal and the people of J-K, including businessmen, transporters, shopkeepers, have suffered losses. "There is no person from Lakhanpur to Tangdhar who has not suffered losses. So, in such a situation, when we are taking land from them, increasing electricity charges, we are not in a position to pay property tax," he said. The former J...

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is likely to hold its 84th Raising Day event in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, the first time its annual celebrations will be held in a Left Wing Extremism-affected area, according to officials. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to review the ceremonial parade as the chief guest at the event to be held in Jagdalpur, the district headquarter of Bastar, on March 19, they said. The country's largest Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), with about 3.25 lakh personnel, is designated as the lead national internal security force operating in three main domains of Left Wing Extremism, counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast and counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir. It had organised its 83rd anniversary event last year in Jammu after the government asked all paramilitary or CAPF to hold these events outside the national capital. Bastar district, located in the southern-most region of Chhattisgarh, is flanked by district...

Hundreds are stranded on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway over the past two days after multiple landslides led to the blocking of the key road that connects Kashmir with the rest of the country. Among the vehicles stuck on the highway were two ambulances transporting dead bodies for their last rites, and several trucks carrying essential supplies. Officials said that after 30 hours had passed, some volunteers shifted the two bodies towards the Banihal side so that they can be taken to Srinagar. Ramban deputy commissioner Mussarat Zia praised the volunteers for their bravery.  Two dead bodies stuck at National Highway-44 near Shalgadi for more than 30 hours, shifted towards Banihal side by the brave volunteers for onwards transportation to Srinagar. Kudos. Clearance work in progress. Check ⁦ @Traffic_hqrs ⁩ for updates. ⁦ @dcramban ⁩ pic.twitter.com/CoZl1lCo25 — Mussarat Zia (@mussarat_zia) February 22, 2023 People have been advised not to travel on the highway and keep che...

One of India's most-wanted designated terrorist has been killed in Pakistan. Bashir Ahmad Peer alias Imtiyaz Alam, the top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen was killed outside a shop in Rawalpindi on Monday evening. Peer was designated as a terrorist by the center in October last year for his role in sending terrorists and providing logistic support for infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir. A resident of Babapora, Aloosa village in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, Peer was a hardcore terrorist commander who shifted his base to Pakistan two decades ago. He was considered to be a close confidant of Hizbul Chief Syed Salahuddin. According to Pakistani media reports, motorcycle-borne gunmen fired at Peer from point-blank on Monday evening. He was standing outside a shop in Rawalpindi when he was targeted. As per reports, Peer, who was the launching commander of Hizbul in Pakistan, was playing a key role in recruiting and sending infiltrators and arms and ammunition into Kashmir. ...

The National Green Tribunal has formed a panel to conduct a study and suggest remedial measures for preventing environmental damage in light of the incident of land subsidence in Doda District of Jammu and Kashmir. The tribunal was hearing a matter where it had taken cognisance of a media report on its own about the damage and displacement caused by "slipping of the earth". According to the report, most houses in the area were damaged resulting in displacement of the inhabitants. A bench of Chairperson Justice A K Goel noted that a geological survey of the area was being conducted to ascertain the reasons for the incident. It said the issue was a "matter of concern" requiring "stringent preventive and remedial measures". The bench, also comprising Expert Members A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmad noted the tribunal had earlier passed an order regarding the fragile areas in the Himalayan region and places including Shimla, Kasauli, Manali, McLeod Ganj in Him...

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said he was favourite of his Indian grandmother Indira Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was of their Italian grandmother Paola Maino. In an interview to the Italian daily "Corriere della Sera", the 52-year-old leader also faced a frequently-asked question on his marriage and said he "would like to have children" though. Asked why he did not get married until now, Mr Gandhi said, "It's strange...I don't know. Too many things to do. But I would like to have children." Mr Gandhi also shared his experiences from the 3,500-km Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. On a question about his beard that he has grown during the foot march, he said, "I had decided not to cut it for the whole march. Now I have to decide whether to keep it or not..." Mr Gandhi told the newspaper, "I was the Indian grandmother's favourite and my sister Priyanka was the Italian grandmother's favorite....

More residential houses and power transmission towers were damaged due to "sinking" of land in the hilly Duksar Dalwa village in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district, officials said on Monday. The land sinking in the village started on Friday and so far 16 houses have been damaged, with three of them developing cracks on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. The electricity supply to a dozen panchayats in Gool was snapped following damage to the 33-kV power transmission line passing through the village. Officials say a team of experts from Geological survey of India will be visiting the village tomorrow to ascertain the cause behind sinking. Officials say the affected families have been relocated to safer locations. Early this month, 20 residential houses were demanded in Tantri town of Doda district after land subsidence. Meanwhile, several houses and shops were damaged and Srinagar- Sonmarg road was blocked due to a landslide at Gund area in Ganderbal distric...

A man impersonating a deputy inspector general of police and duping a woman of jewellery worth Rs 8 lakh was arrested here on Monday, officials said. A complaint was lodged with the police by one Anuradha from Ludhiana stating that a man posing as an IPS officer of a DIG-rank duped her of jewellry worth Rs 8 lakh and a cash of Rs 76,000, they said. Acting on the complaint, a police team swung into action and arrested accused Rajesh Kumar while taking the help of technology, the officials said. During questioning, the accused confessed his involvement in the case and on his disclosure the jewellery and they were recovered, they said. A case has been registered at police station Bus Stand in this regard, the officials said. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Read full article

Uttar Pradesh Higher Education minister Yogendra Upadhyay inaugurated the Taj Mahotsav in Agra on Monday and said the event is an amalgamation of art, culture, and cuisines. He said the 10-day event has not only become an attraction for locals but also tourists coming from other nations. Around 300 artisans from various states and UTs such as Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Bihar, and Himachal Pradesh are participating in the event whose theme this year is 'Vishwa Bandhutva'.  "It (Mahotsav) is an amalgamation of art, culture, and cuisines and has become an attraction for not only residents of Agra, but for foreign tourists as well. "Best wishes to the Agra administration, UP Tourism, and other departments for organizing such an event," the minister said. District Magistrate Navneet Singh Chahal said various cultural programmes would be organised within the premises of the Shilpgram and other parts of Agra in the next 10 days. A visitor Sumit Mudgal said, ...

Days ahead of the Congress' crucial plenary session, senior leader P Chidambaram on Monday said half of the CWC members should be elected as per the AICC constitution and batted for younger leaders' inclusion in the party's top decision-making body. In an exclusive interview with PTI, Mr Chidambaram said he has learnt that there are issues about the strength of the electoral college that will elect the Congress Working Committee (CWC) which must be resolved by the party's poll panel. The former Union minister asserted that an objective analysis of the political situation will lead to the conclusion that the Congress has to be the "pole" around which Opposition unity in the 2024 Lok Sabha election can be built. Asked whether he believes that elections to the party's highest decision-making body CWC were essential, Mr Chidambaram said, "My personal view is that one-half of the CWC should be elected as per the Constitution of the party." "Ho...

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was seen riding a snowmobile with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg. A video shared on Twitter shows the siblings riding through the fresh snow in the popular tourist destination surrounded by skiers and others on snowmobiles. Shared on Twitter by Srinavas BV, the national president of the Indian Youth Congress, the video shows Rahul Gandhi, in ski goggles, and Priyanka Gandhi taking turns riding the snowmobile through the white landscape while the other rode pillion. RaGa ?? pic.twitter.com/WUfzeK9o52 — Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) February 19, 2023 On Wednesday, Mr Gandhi was seen skiing through the slopes of Gulmarg as he began a two-day personal visit which was described by others as "a perfect vacation after the successful Bharat Jodo Yatra". The video of the siblings on the snowmobile was shared the same day as Rahul Gandhi chaired a meeting of party leaders of Kashmir, and slammed the BJP for the ongoing ev...

As many as 13 houses were damaged due to the landslide in the Ramban district, after which the affected families were shifted to safe locations, officials said on Sunday. The landslide occurred in around 1 sq km area at Duksar Dalwa, in Sangaldan of Gool Tehsil on the upper side of Ramban-Sangaldan Gool road, the officials said. According to the SDM of Gool, all the affected families have been shifted to tents and have also been provided with blankets, and utensils. The Army is also providing them food. The landslide has posed great danger to the 33KV Power line and a major water pipeline. Deputy Commissioner (DC), Ramban, Mussarat Islam has requested the Jammu Divisional Commissioner to send a team of geologists from the Department of Geology and Mining to find out the underlying reason and also seek help from the engineers of IRCON and USBRL (Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line). The Ramban DC has also requested the Officer-in-charge, 52-RCC of General Reserve Engineering F...

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday chaired a meeting of party leaders of Kashmir and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for the ongoing eviction drive in Jammu and Kashmir and termed it as a deliberate move by BJP to divert the attention of the people from real issues. The administration of the Union Territory launched an eviction drive against illegal encroachment by 'big land owners' and 'influential' people and nearly 23,000 hectares have been retrieved during the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in the Jammu division. During the meeting, the former Congress chief exhorted party leaders to work for the betterment of people. Mr Gandhi expressed serious concern over the difficulties confronting people in absence of the democratic system in Jammu and Kashmir while slamming the government for snatching the rights of people. Slamming the eviction drive in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Gandhi said, "BJP's deliberate move to divert the attention of the people from real ...

People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the BJP and alleged that the party does not want to build a nation but only intends to make India a "BJP Rashtra", adding that 26 crore people who were lifted above the poverty line during the UPA regime have been pushed back in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. The PDP chief alleged that the BJP considers Jammu and Kashmir its "laboratory" where it conducts "experiments". She alleged that the Hindus have become poor under the BJP regime. "The BJP sold the entire country including Railways, airports, and banks. This is not nationalism. They only talk about Hindu-Muslim. During the UPA regime, 26 crore people were lifted above the Poverty Line, the BJP again pushed them back to BPL, are they all Muslims? Are only Muslims the victims of the drug menace in J-K?" she said. "Jammu and Kashmir is a laboratory. Experiments are conducted here. The prac...

Shiv Sena faction chief Uddhav Thackeray, stripped of the party name and its election symbol by the Election Commission, ripped into the BJP and its chief strategist Amit Shah today with one of the best-known lines from the movie "Mr India" -- 'Mogambo khush hua". Mr Thackeray also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying when the Shiv Sainiks saved Mumbai during the serial blasts of 1993, "Those talking of Hindutva now, where were they? Address not known. Now they brag about 56-inch chest. Where was that 56-inch chest then? He was sweating".   While once people wore "Modi masks at rallies, now it is PM Modi, who is after the mask of Balasaheb Thackeray," he added, pointing to the months-long battle with the BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for the legacy of his father. That battle was settled in Mr Shinde's favour by the Election Commission on Friday -- a decision that Mr Thackeray plans to challenge in the Supreme Court. "Yes...

Ahead of its plenary next week, the Congress on Sunday said the party top brass will deliberate and give direction on ways to forge opposition unity during the three-day conclave, asserting that any such effort without it would be unsuccessful. The plenary session in Chhattisgarh's Nava Raipur will start from February 24 and is expected to be attended by around 15,000 delegates. Congress general secretary organisation KC Venugopal said the party's steering committee would meet on the first day of the session and decide whether elections would be held for the party's top decision-making body -- the Congress Working Committee (CWC), a demand made by some from within the organisation. The Congress knows its role in bringing together various opposition parties for forging an alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to take on the BJP and oust it from power, he said. "The Congress has already taken the initiative and has been in touch with various political partie...