Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 30: Ahead of the Budget session, Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad, on Saturday, stressed the need for an elected government in Jammu-Kashmir, at the all-party meet chaired by PM Modi. Pointing out that panchayat and corporation polls had been successfully held in the union territory, he said that a sensitive border state like J&K must have a government. J&K government was dissolved in 2018 after the PDP and BJP fell apart, resulting in President's rule in J&K.
Ahead of the Budget session, Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad, on Saturday, stressed the need for an elected government in Jammu-Kashmir, at the all-party meet chaired by PM Modi. Pointing out that panchayat and corporation polls had been successfully held in the union territory, he said that a sensitive border state like J&K must have a government. J&K government was dissolved in 2018 after the PDP and BJP fell apart, resulting in President's rule in J&K.
The J&K administration held J&K's first-ever District Development Council polls in eight phases from November 28 to December 19, with a voter turnout of 51.42%. The People's Alliance of Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) won 110 seats, Congress won 26 seats, while BJP too made inroads in the Union Territory by becoming the single-largest party with 75 seats. Previously, in December 2019, J&K govt held panchayat elections - the first since the revocation of Article 370 & bifurcation of the state.
Recently, the J&K administration extended the ban on high-speed mobile internet across the Union territory till 6 February 2021. The administration justified the ban stating 'well-founded apprehensions about seditious propaganda from across the border on public order'. High-speed mobile internet continues to remain functional only in Ganderbal and Udhampur districts, post-paid services, and verified pre-paid services. Restrictions have been put on communication links since August 5 in Jammu and Kashmir, these were subsequently eased, after Supreme Court upheld that the continued ban on the internet was a 'violation of freedom of expression'. In May, the Supreme Court had refused to pass orders to restore 4G internet services in Jammu and Kashmir and instead directed the Centre to form a special committee to examine the petitioners’ demands. |
