Article 370 can't be restored; parties are misleading voters: Ghulam Nabi Azad in Kashmir rally

News Network
September 11, 2022

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Srinagar, Sept 11: Ghulam Nabi Azad, who broke his five-decade-long association with the Congress last month, Sunday said Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir and was revoked in August 2019, can't be restored.

Amid a show of strength in Baramulla, Azad, who addressed his first political rally in Kashmir after quitting Congress said, “I will not allow parties to exploit and mislead people in the name of Article 370. It cannot come back as 370 restoration needs a two-thirds majority in the Parliament.”

The veteran leader, who announced that he will launch his new party within the next 10 days, rued that political exploitation killed one lakh people in Kashmir and orphaned five lakh children since 1990.

“I will not seek votes on falsehood and exploitation. I will speak only what's achievable even if it hurts me elections,” Azad said in an apparent reference to the National Conference and the PDP.

While seeking support of people for restoration of statehood, protection of jobs and land for local residents, 73-year-old Azad said, “My party will be development-oriented. Its agenda will be to give employment opportunities to the people.”

Azad, also a former chief minister of J&K, ended his five-decade association with the Congress on August 26, terming the party “comprehensively destroyed”. He also lashed out at Rahul Gandhi for “demolishing” the party’s entire consultative mechanism.

Speaking at a public meeting at Dak Bungalow in Baramulla, Azad said his new party will be ‘Azad’ (free), like his name, in its ideology and thinking.

“Some of my colleagues said we should name the party as Azad. But, I said never. That may happen after my death, but not till then,” he added.

On September 4, Azad during a meeting in Jammu said that he had not decided upon the name and the flag of the party, saying that one of his focus areas will be restoration of full statehood.

“I have not decided upon a name for my party yet. The people of Jammu and Kashmir will decide the name and the flag for the party. I will give a Hindustani name to my party that everyone can understand,” he had said.

Azad is also scheduled to hold similar rallies in neighboring Kupwara district and south Kashmir in coming weeks.

Meanwhile, ahead of the rally, eight councilors of the municipal council resigned from Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari to join the veteran leader’s new party. 

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News Network
December 4,2025

Udupi: A 40-year-old NRI from Udupi has reportedly lost more than Rs 12.25 lakh in an online investment scam operated through Telegram.

According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, Leo Jerome Mendonsa, who has been working in Dubai for the past 15 years in computer accessories sales, maintains NRI accounts in Karkala and Nitte.

On November 12, 2025, Mendonsa was added to a Telegram group called Instaflow Earnings by unknown individuals. Users identified as Priya and Dipannita persuaded him to invest in “Revenue Tasks.” Initially, Mendonsa transferred Rs 1,100 multiple times and received the promised returns, encouraging him to continue.

On November 14, another user, Nishmitha Shetty, directed him to register on a website, digitvisionuoce.cc, and invest Rs 4 lakh in various shares. Over the next few days, he made multiple transfers totaling Rs 12,25,000, including Rs 50,000 via Google Pay, believing the scheme was legitimate.

After receiving the money, the alleged handlers stopped responding, and neither the invested amount nor the promised profits were returned.

The CEN police have registered a case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigations are ongoing.

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News Network
December 5,2025

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New Delhi, Dec 5: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology this evening after more than a thousand flights were cancelled today, making it the "most severely impacted day" in terms of cancellations. The biggest airline of the country cancelled "more than half" of its daily number of flights on Friday, said Elbers. He also said that even though the crisis will persist on Saturday, the airline anticipates fewer than 1,000 flight cancellations.

"Full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though IndiGo cautions that recovery will take time due to the scale of operations," the IndiGo CEO said. 

IndiGo operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily.

Pieter Elbers, while apologising for the major inconvenience due to delays and cancellations, said the situation is a result of various causes.

The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and allow only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to "misjudgment and planning gaps".

Elbers also listed three lines of action that the airline will adopt to address the issue.

"Firstly, customer communication and addressing your needs, for this, messages have been sent on social media. And just now, a more detailed communication with information, refunds, cancellations and other customer support measures was sent," he said.

The airline has also stepped up its call centre capacity.

"Secondly, due to yesterday's situation, we had customers stranded mostly at the nation's largest airports. Our focus was for all of them to be able to travel today itself, which will be achieved. For this, we also ask customers whose flights are cancelled not to come to the airports as notifications are sent," the CEO said.

"Thirdly, cancellations were made for today to align our crew and planes to be where they need to start tomorrow morning afresh. Earlier measures of the last few days, regrettable, have proven not to be enough, but we have decided today to reboot all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest numbers of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting from tomorrow," he added.

As airports witnessed chaotic scenes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to grant IndiGo a temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots. It also allowed substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said a high-level inquiry will be ordered and accountability will be fixed.

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News Network
December 1,2025

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Udupi, Dec 1: A horrific case of alleged rape has unfolded in Udupi, where a worker from a Hindutva organisation, previously arrested and released on bail for harassing a young woman, is now accused of waylaying and sexually assaulting her.

The arrested individual has been identified as Pradeep Poojary (26), a member of the Hindu Jagarana Vedike's Nairkode unit in Perdur.

Poojary had allegedly been relentlessly harassing the young woman, pressuring her to marry him. When she bravely stood up to him and refused his demands, she filed a formal complaint at the Hiriyadka police station. He was subsequently arrested in that initial harassment case but was later granted bail.

According to police reports, driven by the same malicious grudge, Poojary allegedly intercepted the woman again on November 29. While she was walking through a deserted area, the accused is claimed to have threatened her by grabbing her neck. When she again refused to marry him, he allegedly proceeded to rape her.

The survivor immediately informed her family about the traumatic assault. Following this, her parents lodged a complaint at the Udupi women’s police station.

Police arrested Poojary again and produced him before the court. He has since been remanded to judicial custody.

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