JAMMU, Nov 29: Freezing weather conditions show no signs of abating in Kashmir Valley and Ladakh as Srinagar recorded the season’s coldest night at minus 2.2°C on Tuesday.
Quoting a meteorological department official that amidst mist this morning, the summer capital of J&K surpassed previous lowest of minus 2.1°C recorded only on Sunday and today’s minimum temperature was lower by 0.4°C than the previous night. The temperature was 1.3°C below normal during this time of the year for the capital city, he said.
Qazigund recorded a low of minus 1.8°C against minus 1.6°C on the previous night. The temperature was 1.0°C below normal for the gateway town of Kashmir, he said.
In Pahalgam, the mercury settled at minus 4.2°C against minus 4.0°C on the previous night and it was 0.8°C below normal for the south Kashmir resort, he said.
Kokernag recorded a low of 0.1°C against 0.4°C on the previous night and it was 0.5°C above normal for the place, he said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 1.5°C against minus 1.0°C as on the previous night, the official said. It was 1.6°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the official said.
In Kupwara town, the mercury settled at minus 2.4°C against minus 2.1°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 1.1°C below normal for the north Kashmir place, he said.
Jammu recorded a low of 9.8°C, the same as on the previous night. It was 0.5°C below normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said. Banihal recorded a low of 2.4°C (0.5°C above normal), Batote 5.1°C (1.0°C above normal), Katra 9.4°C (0.5°C above normal) and Bhadarwah 2.8°C (1.5°C above normal).
In Ladakh, Leh recorded minus 8.6°C, Kargil minus 11.0°C and mercury in Drass, the world’s second coldest place after Siberia, settled at minus 12.1°C, the official said.
The MeT department has forecast mainly dry weather for next 24 in J&K and said that no large change was expected till December 7. (Agencies)
Amid Mist, Srinagar Records Season’s Coldest Night At Minus 2.2°C
MCD polls: Internal survey shows BJP may win 170 wards, says senior party official
senior BJP leader said here on Monday that a survey conducted internally by the Delhi BJP indicated that the party may win 170 of the 250 wards in the MCD elections scheduled to be held next month.
According to Delhi BJP media chief, Harish Khurana, the survey with a sample size of 43,750 people was conducted between November 13 and November 25.
The elections for 250 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will be held on December 4. Results will be declared on December 7.
“The survey conducted in all the 250 wards shows that the BJP is going to win 170 seats. There are 150 wards where BJP is in a very strong position while there are 20-25 other wards where the party has an edge over other parties,” Khurana said.
Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta had said during campaigning on Sunday that the BJP would win 180 wards in the MCD elections.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has claimed that his party will win 200 wards in the MCD polls. He had also said that the BJP would not win more than 20 seats in the elections.
The BJP, in the 2017 municipal corporation elections, had won 181 of the 270 wards where voting was held, routing the AAP and Congress. The AAP had bagged 48 wards while Congress was restricted to 30 municipal wards. The three municipal corporations ruled by the BJP were unified into 250 wards under MCD earlier this year by the Centre.
Iffi jury head calls The Kashmir Files ‘propaganda, vulgar film’, Israel consul disagrees
New Delhi, November 29:
In a rather controversial end to the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Goa, jury head Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid criticised Vivek Agnihotri’s film The Kashmir Files “propaganda”.
In his address, Lapid said, “We were disturbed and shocked by the 15th film, The Kashmir Files. To us, it felt like propaganda, a vulgar movie, inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival.”
He added that he felt comfortable sharing his feelings on stage, saying that “the spirit of having a festival is to accept a critical discussion which is essential for art and life”.
Lapid made the remarks in front of Union Ministers and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who attended the closing ceremony.
The Kashmir Files directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri was released on March 11. It revolves around the killings and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 from the Valley.
The film stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi in lead roles. In India, the movie has been lauded by the ruling BJP, with PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah coming forward to shower praise on the actors’ performances and the content. The film was declared tax-free in most of the BJP-ruled states.
BJP deliberately not conducting assembly elections in J&k : Seva Dal J&K
Congress Seva Dal President Vijay Sharma Babbi has said that by delaying the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP is trying to avoid public anger, but its plans will never succeed. Due to the absence of an elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, people are facing serious problems. People have been left at the mercy of bureaucracy. The government has always been making tall claims about normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, but when it comes time to hold assembly elections, it is postponed on one pretext or the other. Senior military officers including Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh are also claiming that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is peaceful. If the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is really normal, then what is the problem for the government to conduct the assembly elections. By ignoring the assembly elections, the government is attacking democracy. There is also a strong demand of the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the elections should be conducted on time and the state may get an elected government, but this is not happening due to unknown reasons. Vijay Sharma said that the BJP has come to know that its mass base in Jammu and Kashmir is over and people are going to reject it outright. Keeping this fact in mind, elections are being postponed every time.
SC issues notices to Centre, states on PIL seeking distribution of Sanitary Pads to girls
NEW DELHI, Nov 28: The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre, states and Union territories (UTs) on a PIL seeking issuance of directions for providing free sanitary pads to girls studying in classes 6 to 12 in government schools across the country.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha took note of the plea of social activist Jaya Thakur, a Madhya Pradesh-based doctor, and issued notices to the central government and all the states and UTs.
The top court also sought the assistance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in the matter, saying the petitioner has raised the important issue of sanitation and hygiene of girl students in government and government-aided schools. (Agencies)
Anti Crime NGO distributes Notebooks, Stationary items at Government School Bishnah
Anti Crime NGO today distributed Notebook’s among Students of Government School Bishnah.
Chairman of Organization Sham Lal Gupta was Present on the occasion in which Notebooks, Stationary items (Pencil, Eraser, Sharpener,Geometry Box, Scale,Pen) Biscuits were distributed among the students.
While speaking on the occasion Gupta briefed the Students that NGO, Anti Crime is distributing Notebooks without any Government Help/funds and NGO is working for Peace in the Society.
School Headmaster Harmeet Kour, Corporator Municipal Committee Bishnah Sahil Gupta , School Teachers Pardeep Choudhary, Raman Sharma, Jyoti Samyal and Sunita Verma Appreciated Steps of NGO.
Head Master Harmeet Kour Motivated the Students of Govt School to focus on their Studies.
Gupta told NGO will Provide Every facility to the Students, He further requested the Parent’s to admit their Students in Government Schools.
Small Children’s of Government School were Happy on receiving these Notebooks and Stationary items.
Those Members Present include Vijay Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Rattan Lal, Tushar Digra, Ravi Kumar, Chander Shekhar, Rohit Kumar, Raman Sharma and others.
Over 5.4 million Twitter users’ data stolen, leaked online
New Delhi: As Elon Musk goes gaga over transforming Twitter, at least 5.4 million Twitter user records have been stolen via an internal bug and leaked online on a hacker forum.
In addition to the 5.4 million records for sale online, there were an additional 1.4 million Twitter profiles collected using a different Twitter application programming interface (API) that have reportedly been shared privately among a few people.
The massive data consists of scraped public information as well as private phone numbers and email addresses that are not meant to be public, reports Bleeping Computer. Security expert Chad Loder first broke the news on Twitter and was suspended soon from the platform.
“I have just received evidence of a massive Twitter data breach affecting millions of Twitter accounts in the EU and the US. I have contacted a sample of the affected accounts and they confirmed that the breached data is accurate. This breach occurred no earlier than 2021,” Loder had posted on Twitter.
The data containing non-public information was stolen using a Twitter API vulnerability fix in January this year. This data was collected in December 2021 using a Twitter API vulnerability disclosed in the HackerOne bug bounty programme, the report said on Sunday.
Most of the data consisted of public information, such as Twitter IDs, names, login names, locations, and verified status.
It also included private information, such as phone numbers and email addresses. Musk or Twitter were yet to comment on the report.
Pompompurin, the owner of the Breached hacking forum, told BleepingComputer that “they were responsible for exploiting the bug and creating the massive dump of Twitter user records after another threat actor known as ‘Devil’ shared the vulnerability with them,” the report mentioned.
As hackers released 5.4 million records online, an even larger data dump has allegedly been created using the same vulnerability, according to the report.
“We were told that it consists of over 17 million records but could not independently confirm this,” said the report.
Raj BJP to launch ‘Jan Aakrosh Rath Yatra’ on Dec 1 in 200 assembly constituencies
To mark Congress’ four years of “misrule” in the state, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will launch ‘Jan Aakrosh Rath Yatra’ on December 1 in all 200 Assembly constituencies of Rajasthan.
According to Satish Poonia, state BJP chief, the yatra shall cover 75,000 km on 200 chariots in 200 assemblies and the party has also launched the theme song of Jan Aakrosh Yatra.
“During its rally, the party will also hold 20,000 chaupals and 20,000 nukkar meetings,” stated Poonia.
Poonia, while addressing a press conference on Sunday said that the chariots of the ‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ will be taken out by the state BJP in all 200 assembly constituencies against the “jungle rule, misrule and corruption” under the rule of the Congress government in the state.
State BJP National President J.P. Nadda will start the flagging off the yatra from Jaipur. On December 1, this Jan Aakrosh Yatra will be kicked off by the party’s National President J.P. Nadda from Jaipur with the departure of 51 chariots.
Overall, 200 chariots will travel through 200 assembly constituencies in the entire state.
Besides, the saffron party has released a missed call number (8140200200) for the general public, on which people would be able to register public outrage against the Congress government by giving a missed call.
Dr Poonia, National General Secretary and State Incharge Arun Singh, Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria, Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, National Spokesperson Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, MP Kirodi Lal Meena, Ramcharan Bohra, State Chief Spokesperson Ramlal Sharma, General Secretary Bhajan Lal Sharma, State Vice President Chandrakanta Meghwal and District Chief Rama Devi Chopra were present in the press conference.
PM Modi pays homage to Guru Tegh Bahadur on his martyrdom day
New Delhi, Nov 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday paid tributes to Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur on his martyrdom day, saying he refused to bow to tyranny and injustice, and his teachings continue to motivate us.
Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, was executed on the orders of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb.
“I pay homage to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji on the day of his martyrdom. He is universally admired for his courage and unwavering commitment to his principles as well as ideals,” Modi said in a tweet.
“He refused to bow to tyranny and injustice. His teachings continue to motivate us,” the prime minister said. (Agencies)
2023 is year of many elections, as Jammu and Kashmir awaits its Assembly
Jammu: In the post 2019 Jammu and Kashmir, different sections of society and political ideologies have different perceptions, but election is the common minimum desire which everyone wants to have at the earliest.
With the ‘exclusive’ delimitation process complete in May this year and the final electoral rolls published on November 25 following special summary revision there is no technical reason to delay the elections any further. But no one has any clue how, when and by whom a decision shall be arrived at for the Assembly elections.
In a television interview on November 15, Home Minister Amit Shah said that he wants the Assembly elections to held in Jammu and Kashmir soon, but then he was quick to add “the government wants to see it from the security point of view and then the election commission has to decide”.
As suspense further deepens on Assembly elections, the first in Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory, the coming year looks full of other elections to keep people engaged politically.
Elections to Panchayats, the Municipal Corporations and other urban local bodies are due in the later half of 2023. The moment high-security-detailed Amarnath pilgrimage ends in August, Jammu and Kashmir will be found in a full drawn election mode which are expected to last till the end of the year. Between the beginning of Amarnath pilgrimage and melting of snows there is a three-month window of security-safe pleasant whether which could promise a good time for Assembly elections. If this window is missed, then expect Assembly elections in 2024.
Exactly a year before reading down of Article 370, the Center had started prioritizing the Panchayati Raj institutions by building a case for empowerment of common man through ‘real democracy’ and ‘real self-rule’. This narrative around the Panchayats, in background of their history, did work well and it continues to do so through unprecedented institutional empowerment of the elected representatives who have been filling the political gap.
Quick recent history
After an extraordinarily long gap, the process of Panchayat elections was revived by Dr Farooq Abdullah towards the fag end of his term in 2001. However, as the Panchayats awaited their formal empowerment under law, the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government suspended Panchayats in 2004 under the pretext of new laws ahead of proposed fresh elections. These elections never happened. It was in 2011 that Omar Abdullah government conducted Panchayat elections after gap of ten years. These Panchayats completed their terms in 2016 when Mehbooba Mufti was the Chief Minister of the Peoples Democratic Party and Bhartiya Janta Party alliance. The coalition government delayed the elections on one pretext or the other till it saw its collapse in June 2018.
In the hindsight
With fall of Mehbooba Mufti government being a beginning point, as the Center prepared for the massive constitutional changes, the Panchayat elections of 2018, as one looks back, were among the major steps to keep people politically engaged and also appreciate that elected governments were not willing to share powers at the grassroots. Despite some constituencies in Kashmir remaining vacant, the Panchayat elections created over 40,000 stakeholders in the system -Jammu and Kashmir has 316 Rural Development Blocks and consequently as many Block Development Councils, 4490 Panchayat constituencies and a whopping 35096 Panch constituencies.
While the Panchayats saw a gradual process of empowerment, barely two months after the August 5 events, the Government announced elections to the Block Development Councils. Through an indirect poll -to elected through elected Sarpanchs and Panchs -the BDCs were being constituted after decades. These elections concluded November 2019.
Happening in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time ever, elections to the third tier of Panchayati Raj was held in November-December 2020 and the District Development Councils constituted, again through indirect elections, in February-March 2021. With accord of protocol and status of eminence to the top two tiers of Panchayats and devolution of well-defined financial powers, these four years have been exciting for the rural population of Jammu and Kashmir which comprised around 79% of total voters in Jammu and Kashmir.
Which elections to expect in 2023
With Assembly elections everyone’s guess, two certain democratic exercises for the autumn of 2023 are the Panchayats and the Municipalities. The law provides five-year term for the Panchayats and the Municipal bodies.
However, there is a trick which could trigger major high-stake political activities in 2023 drawing all political parties to compete for the space -the elections to all three tiers of the Panchayats could happen in the same year.
The Panchayats, the Block Development Councils and the District Development Councils are part of the same single institution, all three have five-year term of office, but their terms, as seen currently, are not concurrent to each other. The Panchayats have their terms ending in 2023, the BDCs in 2024 and the DDCs in 2024-25.
While the Panchayati Raj Act stipulates five-year term for each tier, but there is a clear provision which says that the term could be truncated if the government wants to hold elections to all three tiers together. Since, this is first time ever that the Panchayati Raj institutions have all three tiers elected and in place, officials say, there is a justification in harmonising their terms of office for better synergy and discipline of leaders.
There is a greater possibility that Jammu and Kashmir could see more than two elections in 2023 which may or may not include the election to first Assembly of the Union Territory.