In its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls released Tuesday, the Congress promised that if voted to power it will review the AFSAP, which provides special powers to the force, in Jammu and Kashmir. It also proposed to omit Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code that defines the offence of 'sedition', saying it has been "misused" and become "redundant because of subsequent laws".
Known for her social-media savviness, Swaraj responded to various people on Twitter in need of assistance and even to those just indulging in light-hearted banter.
Making the announcement at a press conference, Kushwaha insisted that he was not contesting from more than one place out of fear of defeat from his sitting seat but to teach a lesson to both the JD(U) and the BJP which have been jointly conspiring to finish him off politically by destroying his party.
"I am a Modi fan and I voted for BJP in the last election, but no work has been done here. The BJP candidate who won in the name of Modi from here is hardly seen. We cannot even complain," says a petrol pump worker Satbir Yadav from Saharanpur.
The BJP on Wednesday dropped its sitting MP Kirit Somaiya, whose name was opposed by ally Shiv Sena, as its candidate from Mumbai North East and also announced its nominees for the Lok Sabha election against key opposition leaders like Sonia Gandhi of the Congress and SP's Akhilesh Yadav.
"We are writing to (the state) government to take their view on this (withdrawal of security and accommodation to Congress leaders and its chief in Jammu and Kashmir)," Shailendra Kumar, the CEO, told PTI on Wednesday.
Since the creation of Uttarakhand in 2000, the BJP and the Congress have always emerged as the dominant parties in the state, except in 2004 when the Samajwadi Party (SP) won the Haridwar parliamentary seat.
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