Security agencies in Kashmir have arrested more than 100 people, including political leaders and activists, describing them as a threat to peace in the Valley, officials said on Wednesday. The arrests took place amid a complete lockdown, with a strict curfew in force and all communication lines cut. Who was arrested A senior official in the state administration said over 100 political leaders and activists had been held so far, but did not name them. Former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, under house arrest since Sunday night, wereRead More

The Congress Working Committee, the party’s top decision-making body, late on Tuesday condemned the way in which provisions of Article 370 were abrogated and Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two union territories, calling it “unilateral, brazen and totally undemocratic”. The resolution Reading out the unanimously adopted resolution, P Chidambaram said the government had violated every principle of constitutional law, states’ rights, parliamentary procedure and democratic governance. The CWC accused the government of dismembering the state by misreading the Constitution. The committee reaffirmed the Congress position that Jammu and Kashmir,Read More

The first session of Parliament after the Lok Sabha elections passed major legislation, including the repeal of Article 370, the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, the Triple Talaq Bill and a new Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill. It also set a record for the most bills passed in the last 67 years. By the numbers The Lok Sabha passed 36 bills during the session. Recorded voting took place on seven of them at some stage of debate, or 21 per cent, compared with 8 per cent of bills in the 16thRead More

A column published after the Centre’s decision on Articles 370 and 35A argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pulled off a major political coup, and that broad public support for the move would give the BJP an advantage in upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana, Delhi and Arunachal Pradesh while dealing a serious blow to the Congress. The column’s argument The writer contended that winning public backing for contentious policies is a particular strength of Modi’s, and that the decision reflected a taste for big risks and boldRead More