A breakthrough was achieved on Wednesday that would end the continuing protests in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine base camp town of Katra.

Shopkeepers, hoteliers, transport operators, Pony and Palki wallahs have been in protest for the last eight days against the proposed Rs 300-crore ropeway project from Tarakote Marg in Katra to Sanji Chhat at the Mata’s cave shrine.

The administration formed a 4-member team on Tuesday to engage in discussions with the protesters. The administration has already announced its decision to release all detained protesters, including the Samiti leaders.

Ramesh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, told reporters that the decisions were taken after holding detailed discussions with members of the civil society.

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal has written a letter to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat seeking answers to some questions on the BJP's politics.

In the letter, Kejriwal has posed questions like -- Does RSS support whatever wrong BJP has done in the past few days? BJP leaders are openly distributing money, does RSS support vote buying? Dalit and Purvanchali votes (from the voter list) are being cut on a large scale. Does RSS think this is good for democracy? Doesn't RSS feel that the BJP is weakening democracy?"

The former Delhi Chief Minister had on December 29 launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing the party of attempting to manipulate the voter lists, and also claimed that 'Operation Lotus' has been going on since December 15 in his Assembly constituency. He highlighted voter deletion issues in the Shahdara constituency, where the BJP allegedly submitted applications to remove 11,008 voters.

While the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) engage in a war of words, accusing each other of manipulating the voters’ list ahead of the imminent Assembly elections, the Chief Electoral Office (Delhi) is set to 'settle' the controversy by publishing the final list of electoral rolls, early next month.

Sharing information about registration of new voters, the Electoral office said that since November 28 this year, about 4.8 lakh forms have been received for New Voter Registrations and the final Electoral rolls would be published on January 6, 2025.

The battle for Delhi has heated up recently, with both AAP and BJP upping the ante against each other.

The AAP has accused the BJP of conniving with EC officials to get the names of voters in its strongholds deleted from the voters’ list while the BJP claims that the AAP government has been ‘nurturing’ Rohingyas as its vote bank by providing them shelter in the capital.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, on Saturday, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to derail key welfare schemes introduced by the Delhi government. These include monthly financial assistance of Rs 2,100 for women and free healthcare for senior citizens.

Addressing a press conference, he claimed that investigations have been initiated against these schemes under BJP's directives to obstruct their implementation.

Kejriwal questioned the rationale behind the investigations, asserting that these initiatives were part of AAP's poll promises. "What is there to investigate? These are our commitments to the people, which BJP now wants to halt under the guise of inquiries," he stated.

The mortal remains of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh were brought to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters on Saturday morning, where senior Congress leaders and party workers gathered to bid a final farewell to their stalwart leader.

Prominent Congress leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi, and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were among those who reached the party headquarters to pay their heartfelt tributes to the former Prime Minister.

Dr Singh's last rites will be conducted with full state honours at Nigam Bodh Ghat, a public cremation ground in Delhi. President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other senior leaders are expected to attend the funeral later in the day.

His mortal remains will be kept at the Congress headquarters to allow party workers and supporters to offer floral tributes. Following this, his final journey to the cremation ground will commence.

Punjab Jails Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said on Friday that adequate steps have been taken by the Prisons Department in fortifying security measures and improving prisoner rehabilitation.

“The government is establishing a Rs100 crore high-security jail near Ludhiana, spanning over 50 acres. Once completed, this facility will accommodate 300 high-risk prisoners,” an official statement quoting Bhullar said.

He said the department has prioritized technology integration with AI-based CCTV surveillance being implemented in eight central jails to detect contraband throws, wall scaling and unauthorized mobile usage.

This system will be extended to six more jails, he said. Similarly, the V-Kavach jammers are in the process of being installed across 12 sensitive jails, building upon the successful implementation at Central Jail Bathinda, which also received an additional CRPF company for enhanced security.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a member of the opposition INDIA bloc, on Thursday issued a stern ultimatum to the Congress, demanding action against its Delhi leader Ajay Maken within 24 hours, else the party would push for the Congress' removal from the alliance.

AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, at a press conference here, demanded clarification from the Congress leadership and immediate disciplinary measures against Maken. Accusing him of making anti-AAP statements, they alleged that Maken has been acting at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"Ajay Maken crossed all limits on Wednesday by calling Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi's most popular leader, anti-national," Singh said.

He further accused the Congress of orchestrating smear campaigns against the AAP in collusion with the BJP, adding that the Youth Congress has even filed a complaint against Kejriwal and CM Atishi.

Singh claimed that in the Lok Sabha elections, AAP campaigned for Congress candidates as part of the INDIA bloc’s strategy, yet Congress has been working against the alliance's spirit.

The 72-hour-long shutdown against the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine ropeway project entered the second day in Katra town of Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district

The protest began started on Wednesday. Shoppers, transporters, hoteliers, Pony and Palki Wallahs in addition to other businessmen have been protesting against the proposed ropeway project from Tarakote to Sanjhi Chhat.

In November, clashes erupted in Katra town between the protesters and the police when police used force to disperse the agitators. Police claimed that the agitators did not have permission to take out a protest march.

The call for the 72-hour-long shutdown has been given by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti against the proposed ropeway from Tarakote to Sanjhi Chhat.

Congress leader Ajay Maken lambasted both AAP dispensation in Delhi and BJP government at the Centre on Wednesday, accusing them of first ensnaring the Delhi residents with fake promises and then betraying them on multiple occasions, despite being at the helm for more than a decade.

In a press briefing by Delhi Cong chief Devendra Yadav and RS MP Ajay Maken, the Congress party released ‘white paper’ against the misdeeds and misgovernance of AAP government in Delhi and BJP at Centre.

Hitting out at Centre and Delhi govt over the plight of city residents, Maken said, “Aam Aadmi Party is in power in Delhi for the last 11 years and BJP is in power at the Centre since 2014. The people of Delhi elected both these governments with great expectations but they got only betrayal with false promises all these years.”

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of orchestrating a "dirty conspiracy" against his party and its leaders in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections.

The accusations follow public notices issued by the Department of Women and Child Development and the Department of Health and Family Welfare, refuting claims about the existence of the 'Sanjeevani Scheme' and 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana.'

Addressing a press conference alongside Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and AAP MP Sanjay Singh, Kejriwal also alleged that the BJP was "fabricating a fake case" against Atishi.

"BJP is facing a historic defeat in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. They have no narrative, no agenda, and no accomplishments from the past ten years. Despite having MPs, the L-G, and significant resources, they have failed to deliver on security, education, infrastructure, or healthcare," Kejriwal stated.