National Conference

The women's wing of the National Conference on Saturday held a day-long party convention here with its leader Shamima Firdous lashing out at the Centre and the Lieutenant Governor administration for their alleged failure to provide employment to women in Jammu and Kashmir. Firdous, a former MLA who is the state president of NC's women's wing, advocated the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and assemblies. The Centre and the J-K administration have not only failed to provide employment to the women folk but also plunged the weaker sex into a sea of miseries due to their misrule and anti-people policies, she said, addressing the convention at the party headquarters here. Firdous said there is a dire need to empower the women, especially those living in Jammu and Kashmir who have witnessed and faced the worst period of terror onslaught for over three decades. In order to empower women the first and foremost essential in today's scenario is the ...

With the aim to boost the partnership between the Centre and the State governments, PM Narendra Modi will chair the second National Conference of Chief Secretaries in Delhi today and tomorrow

The three-day Conference, from 5-7 January, will focus on achieving rapid and sustained economic growth in partnership with the States

Former chief minister and Lok Sabha member, Dr. Farooq Abdullah was re-elected unopposed as the president of the National Conference (NC) party on Monday

The National Conference on Saturday asked the government to restore the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Speaking on the Constitution Day, NC MPs Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi said people of Jammu and Kashmir are being "denied" their rights enshrined in the Constitution of India. The BJP-led central government has disrespected the Constitution while dealing with Jammu and Kashmir, they alleged. "Had the present ruling dispensation been so considerate of supremacy of the Constitution, it would not have kept the erstwhile historic state under the spell of long undemocratic rule of outsourced bureaucracy, they said in a statement.

Having already announced his decision to step down as president of National Conference, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said he will be contesting the next assembly elections. Abdullah, who on Friday had announced he will be relinquishing the presidency of NC next month, said he is not escaping the responsibility and will continue to work to strengthen the party. "Insha Allah, I am going to fight the next Assembly elections whenever held (in J&K)," Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function organised to welcome new entrants into the party. Several prominent political activists, including Gurjeet Sharma from Nagrota, joined the National Conference in presence of Abdullah and Jammu provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta. Asked about the next party president, he said the National Conference is a democratic party and the party elections will take place on December 5 to elect a new leader. "People will file their nominations and the .

National Conference (NC) said its president Farooq Abdullah has refused to seek re-election to the post, elections for which will be held on December 5

"I am still the party chief till elections and till someone else is ready to shoulder responsibilities of this post," he told reporters.

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah said peoples' unity is crucial for building India and asked them to stand up against the "divisive forces" trying to weaken the country from within. Abdullah made these remarks while addressing an event to celebrate the 75th birthday of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chagan Bhujbal in Mumbai on Thursday. "Our country is diverse, there is diversity of faiths, cultures and climates. What unites us is our faith. Religion doesn't divide people, it unites. We all together can build India by living with camaraderie, he said, stressing on working towards ensuring unity in the country. The NC president said there are no external threats to the country, "there are divisive forces within the country that are weakening it". We should stop seeing ourselves as Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. I'm an Indian Muslim. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, we have to unite this country, and that can only be achieved by living in friendship," he ...

Political opponents are not enemies and politics is not about division and hatred, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said on Friday. His remarks were in response to a video posted on Twitter wherein a netizen hinted at some backdoor understanding between the National Conference (NC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the video, Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina describes Abdullah as a "gem" among top political leaders in the Union territory. "As I became a member of the assembly when Omar was also there, we saw that as an individual, as a person, Omar Abdullah is a gem among the top political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir... so we are friends as well," Raina said. He added that Abdullah was also the first person to call him when he was suffering from coronavirus. Responding to the tweet, the NC leader said politicians do not have to hate each other personally while disagreeing politically. "Why is politics all about division & hatred? Where does it s

National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Saturday said his party will continue fighting "democratically, constitutionally and politically" for restoration of Article 370, which was abrogated by the Centre three years ago. The former chief minister said he believes the NC, which has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the decision announced by the Centre on August 5, 2019, has a strong case. "We are not on the roads or misleading the public or taking the law in our hands for restoration of Article 370. We will continue our fight democratically, constitutionally and politically and it is our right. "I am not among those who will give up (on Article 370)... we have faith in the Supreme Court but our only request is that at least it should listen to us. We believe that our case is strong," Abdullah said. He said he would have felt uneasy had the Supreme Court acted swiftly on a batch of petitions related to the issue, considering that the government of India wa

The National Conference will hold an "all-party meeting" here on Monday to discuss the issue of "inclusion of non-local voters" in the revised electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir. Parties like the NC and PDP claimed the administration has not addressed their main concern on whether ''outsiders'' ordinarily residing in J-K will be allowed to enrol as voters and the meeting will discuss the clarification issued by the administration on the matter. So the meeting will discuss everything threadbare. Even the clarification will be discussed. It is an all-party meeting and every party will present their point of view, PDP chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari had said. NC president Farooq Abdullah had called the meeting to discuss the issue of the "inclusion of non-local voters" in the electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir after remarks related to the addition of voters in the revised rolls by the UT's Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar raised hackles of the regional parties. The governme

The unstated premise is that existing political parties will now face a big challenge - both from locals and 'outsiders'

This comes days after the principal district and sessions judge, Srinagar summoned Abdullah on August 27 on a complaint filed by ED against him and others in the JKCA money laundering case

The principal District and Sessions Judge, Srinagar, issued the summons against Abdullah for August 27 on a complaint filed by the ED against him and others in the JKCA money laundering case

He, however, thanked the opposition leaders for proposing his name as their candidate for the polls next month.

The ED had questioned Abdullah in connection with the multi-crore Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) scam case earlier as well.

NC vice president Omar Abdullah on Saturday expressed concern over the "dangerous game" of polarisation "being played" in India and claimed that even his party is being looked at with suspicion

The ED questioned NC leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday in connection with the purchase of a building by J&K Bank some 12 years ago when he was Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, a move the party termed a "political exercise" ahead of the Assembly elections in the union territory. After spending more than five hours at the ED office here in response to summons sent last week, Abdullah told reporters that he had not been accused of anything and that he had "answered them as much as I could". He would further help them "if they need me", he added. According to officials, the case pertains to the purchase of a building by the J&K Bank, in which the government has 68 per cent equity, at Bandra Kurla in 2010. A property measuring around 65,000 square feet was acquired at a cost of Rs 172 crores. Sources said the board of directors of the bank had set up a two-member committee headed by its chairman Haseeb Drabu which recommended the purchase of the property, in which another leading ..

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday stressed on the need to identify the internal and external enemies of Jammu and Kashmir