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 Soon after the Lok Sabha vote, PM Narendra Modi reached out to people of J&K with the promise that the change would spell their liberation from corruption.
In a series of tweets in five languages spoken in the region — English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Ladakhi, Modi said, “The home minister’s statement that J&K will become a state again one day at the appropriate time if situation improves and that we don’t want it to remain UT forever has been welcomed by the local population.”

People in Haryana are in a state of shock at the demise of their illustrious daughter, Sushma Swaraj, with the residents of Ambala Cantonment, where the former external affairs minister spent her childhood days, recalling her affectionate and caring nature.

The veteran leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who brought a rare empathy and a human approach to India’s foreign diplomacy, passed away on Tuesday night following a massive cardiac arrest. She was 67.

Swaraj was a member of the Haryana legislative assembly from 1977-82 and 1987-90 during the days of the then state governments headed by Chaudhary Devi Lal.

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij, who represents the Ambala Cantonment Assembly constituency, described Swaraj as a leader with rare qualities and said he was deeply saddened by her death.

He recalled that Swaraj was elected as an MLA for the first time at a young age of 25 and later, went on to become the education minister of Haryana.

“In 1977, it so happened that the ticket was first given to Som Prakash Chopra, who was jailed during Emergency. But for some reasons, when he did not enter the fray, the ticket was given to Sushmaji, who won, and the Janata Party government was formed,” Vij said.

In 1990, Swaraj moved to the Rajya Sabha, Vij, who has been representing the Ambala Cantonment constituency since then, said.

President Ram Nath Kovind declared the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, August 7.

The move came after both houses of Parliament passed a resolution in this regard.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (3) of Article 370 read with clause (1) of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, the President, on the recommendation of Parliament, is pleased to declare that, as from the 6th August, 2019, all clauses of the said Article 370 shall cease to be operative…,” an official notification said.

Former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has been cremated with State honours at Lodhi Crematorium in Delhi. Top dignitaries and others who came to the crematorium to pay their respects are now vacating the premises.

Sushma Swaraj’s mortal remains have been brought to the Lodhi crematorium in Delhi from the BJP headquarters. Her daughter Bansuri performed the last rites.

Senior BJP leader LK Advani and his daughter Pratibha had an emotional moment when they reached at Sushma Swaraj’s residence to pay her their last respects, Advani was seen consoling Swaraj Kaushal, Sushma’s husband.

Rajya Sabha condoled the death of former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. Remembering her, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said that her demise was a personal loss to him and that she used to tie him rakhi. He said, “Destiny has snatched away reassuring, contagious smile from our midst.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reached at Sushma Swaraj’s residence, where her body has been kept. Rahul paid his respects to the departed leader. Yesterday, Rahul had expressed shock at her sudden demise.

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee remembered Sushma Swaraj and said, “Deeply saddened, shocked at the sudden passing away of Sushma Swaraj Ji.I knew her since the 1990s. Even though our ideologies differed, we shared many cordial times in Parliament. An outstanding politician, leader, good human being.Will miss her.Condolences to her family/admirers.”

Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav was seen weeping when he went to pay his last respects to the veteran BJP leader. Apart from the SP leader, prominent ministers and leaders across all parties, including senior BJP leaders like LK Advani, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, chief minister BS Yediyurappa, and others paid their respects to the beloved leader.

BJP national working president JP Nadda also paid his respects. Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav also reached Swaraj residence to pay his respects. Swaraj’s body will be kept at the BJP HQ for thee hours before her cremation at 3 pm today.

An emotional prime minister paid his last respects to the former Union minister. Solemn-looking Narendra Modi reached Sushma Swaraj’s Delhi residence and met the grieving family. In a series of tweets, Modi hailed Swaraj as an “uncompromising leader” when it came to matters of ideology.

“A glorious chapter in Indian politics comes to an end. India grieves the demise of a remarkable leader who devoted her life to public service and bettering lives of the poor. Sushma Swaraj ji was one of her kind, who was a source of inspiration for crores of people,” Modi said in a series of tweets. He hailed her as a “prolific orator and outstanding parliamentarian” and said she was admired and revered across party lines.

Veteran BJP leader LK Advani, who handpicked Sushma Swaraj and played a major role in guiding and mentoring her, wrote a long condolence letter in her memory. “I am deeply distressed at the untimely demise of one of my closest colleague, Sushma Swaraj ji. Sushmaji was someone who I have known and worked with since the beginning of her illustrious innings in the Bharatiya Janata Party. When I was the President of the BJP in the eighties, she was a promising young activist who I had inducted into my team. And over the years, she became one of the most popular and prominent leaders of our party — in fact, a role model for women leaders. A brilliant orator, I was often amazed at her ability to recall incidents, events and present them with utmost clarity and eloquence. Sushmaji was also a fine human being. She touched everyone with her warmth and compassionate nature. I do not recall a single year when she missed bringing my favourite chocolate cake on my birthday. The nation has lost a remarkable leader. To me, it is an irreparable loss and I will miss Sushmaji’s presence immensely. May her soul rest in peace. My heartfelt condolences to Swaraj ji, Bansuri and all members of her family. Om Shanti.”

The government believes that the change in Jammu & Kashmir’s status will encourage private sector investment in the new Union Territory. Till now, officials say, provisions of Articles 370 and 35A have prevented business houses from purchasing land and hiring skilled manpower. 

According to official statistics, 10% of all central funds have gone to the state between 2000 and 2016 but private investment had been below par due to the special provisions. The change in administrative st .. 

More than 24 hours after the Centre pulled off a political coup to end Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the “abuse of executive power” by the ruling BJP and said the move would have grave implications for India’s national security.

Gandhi’s statement, voicing strong opposition to the way the government went about repealing the special status, comes at a time when an internal rift in the Congress has come to the fore over the stand taken by the party on the crucial issue.

“This nation is made by its people, not plots of land,” he wrote on Twitter, spelling out what the party line would be going forward.

“National integration isn’t furthered by unilaterally tearing apart J&K, imprisoning elected representatives and violating our Constitution. This nation is made by its people, not plots of land,” he said.

The Congress has been a divided house after the government on Monday moved to end special status to Jammu and Kashmir by amending Article 370 with a presidential decree, and turn the state into two Union Territories, which would give the Centre all the power in the region.

While senior leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and P Chidambaram vehemently opposed the move in Rajya Sabha on Monday, senior party leaders, including Janardan Dwivedi, a Congress veteran and Gandhi family loyalist, took a different stand.

“My mentor Ram Manohar Lohia was against Article 370 from the start…My personal view is that this is a matter of national satisfaction. A mistake made during independence has been corrected, even if belatedly,” Janardhan Dwivedi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI on Monday.

Congress leader Deepender Hooda, the son of former Haryanaa Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had also welcomed the government move and so had another leader Jaiveer Shergill.

This was in sharp contrast to the stand taken by the party in Parliament. Azad and Chidambaram had called the repeal of special status as “murder of democracy” in Rajya Sabha, while Manish Tewari called it a constitutional travesty in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

He said that even during the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the polity’s consent had been sought, unlike in Jammu and Kashmir, where the decision was sprung as a surprise without the consent of stakeholders and after massive troop buildup.

The presidential order amending the clause of Article 370 that gave autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir came after a constitutional manoeuvre by the government that is likely to be challenged in Supreme Court.

Article 370 stated that changes through the presidential order could only be done in consultation with the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, which was dissolved after the accession of the state to the Indian Union.

Rubbishing Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement that he was at home of his own free will, an emotional National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said he was arrested in his own house and no else was allowed to meet him in the last two days.

“Whatever the Home Minister claims about my absence is a complete lie. It is baseless. I am totally jailed. They have stationed a DSP outside my house. I can’t even visit my daughter who lives a few metres away. There is a lock outside her door,” he said, breaking down on camera while speaking to CNN-News18.

The government, in a security crackdown in the Kashmir Valley ahead of its move to repeal J&K’s special status, had sent thousands of troops, snapped all communication and put Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti on house arrest. The two leaders, on Monday, were detained by authorities and moved to guest houses.

Abdullah said there was complete curtailment of movement in Kashmir as he described the Centre’s move on Article 370 via a presidential decree as a “robbery”.

“This is absolute dictatorship,” he said, as he called the government actions “undemocratic” and a betrayal of the secular and democratic principles that had made Kashmir align with India.

“For them, all Muslims are separatists. Is this what we deserve? I have never thought of this… not even in my wildest dream,” he told CNN-News18.

The veteran leader further said that when he had gone to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week to seek a response on the reasons behind troop build-up in the Valley, he was assured that the Amarnath Yatra was going well.

He said he and his party would fight the government’s repeal of special status and would explore all possible options. Omar Abdullah, in a statement issued on Monday, had also said that the move was “unconstitutional” and the party would challenge it in the Supreme Court.

American electronics company RCA has just launched its latest Smart TV series in the Indian market. According to the product listing on Amazon India, the company has launched two different products. Both the products come with different screen sizes providing a total of five different variants. Taking a closer look, first product features 4K UHD resolution, while the second one comes with up to FHD resolution. To make the new series a competitive offering, RCA has priced the FHD Smart LED TV and 4K UHD models at a rather attractive price point.

RCA Smart TV series

RCA Smart LED TV with up to FHD resolution

According to the Amazon listing, RCA Smart LED TV with up to FHD resolution is available in three different variants. The most inexpensive of the lot is the RCASmart LED TV 32-inch “HD-Ready” variant for Rs 10,499. The second variant with FHD resolution and a 43-inch display is priced at Rs 18,999. The third variant comes with a 49-inch display with FHD resolution for Rs 23,999. Interested buyers can further push the price down with the help of exchange offers. The listing reveals that all the variants feature A+ grade display panels to get rid of reflections while providing detailed quality.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has directed to introduce a ‘Single Window System’ for all types of permissions and no-objection certificates for construction of colonies and township     development.

The state government’s latest move is expected to help thousands of middle income group families to realize the dream of owning houses.

The single window system will be set up in premises of office of collector where       revenue, urban administration and town planning and other concerned department will deal with the application. Chief Minister has directed the housing and environment department to issue a detailed order within a month.

Recently, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) had called on Chief Minister and raised problems being faced by them for developing housing colonies and township.

They pointed out that they needed to get separate no objection certificates and   permission from revenue, urban development, town planning and other concerned departments which take years and it finally escalate the total project cost.

Chief Minister directed to authorize district collectors for all necessary sanctions and made Housing and Environment department as nodal department.An additional collector will be made nodal officer in each district office. The builder will submit all the departmental application in a single window. The applications after registration will be sent to all the concerned departments. Collector during time-limit meeting will review the pending cases and at maximum three months, all types of  permission through additional collector will be provided through single window.

With chaos gripping Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre is chairing an urgent cabinet meeting in the National Capital, on Monday.

All eyes are on the Cabinet meeting which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and attended by Union home minister Amit Shah and other top leaders, shortly before the Parliament session.

While Modi also held a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Amit Shah prior to the cabinet meeting at his residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.

Although no clarity has been offered on the matter by the Centre, a person familiar with the development stated that the point of discussion was likely to be the ongoing security situation in the valley amid speculations of the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, with a “major policy decision likely to be announced after the meeting,” the person said.