National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah on Sunday said he was thankful to Union Home Minister Amit Shah for noticing his party’s election manifesto.

People who were not ready to read it, have now been compelled to go through it now, Abdullah added.

“I am thankful to the home minister from the core of my heart for talking about our manifesto. For a small party, contesting an election in a far-flung area of the country, it is a huge thing that the country’s home minister has seen our manifesto,” Abdullah told reporters here after a party function.

Shah on Friday slammed the Congress for its alliance with the NC for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, accusing the party of repeatedly risking the country’s unity and security in its “greed for power”.

The Congress has once again “exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family’s National Conference,” the BJP leader said on X and posted 10 questions for the national party and its leader Rahul Gandhi, while listing several of the manifesto promises of the NC.

However, Abdullah said he was thankful to Shah for taking notice of the NC’s manifesto, saying, “He forced those people who till now were not ready to read our manifesto.” “It is regretful that the Home “Minister saw only one paragraph in our manifesto and he also talked about certain things which are not in our manifesto like name-changing. I re-read our manifesto after the home minister’s tweet to check whether I missed it, but it does not talk about that. But, still I am thankful to the home minister,” he added.

“Does the Congress want ‘Shankaracharya Hill’ to be known as ‘Takht-e-Suleiman’, and ‘Hari Hill’ as ‘Koh-e-Maran?” Shah had asked.

To a question about the reports of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) leaders mulling to contest the polls independently, Abdullah said it was a welcome step.

“This is the beauty of democracy. I read in the media that JeI wanted the ban on it to be revoked so that they contest the polls. Unfortunately, the election bugle was sounded and the ban could not be revoked.

“Today, there are reports that they will contest as independent candidates. Bismillah. We wanted them to contest on their own symbol in JeI’s name, but let them contest even as independents. Let them plunge into the field, bring their manifesto and their promises. Then it is up to the people to decide whom they would like to vote,” Abdullah added.

Abdullah, who represented the constituency in the erstwhile Assembly from 2009-14 when he was the chief minister, will contest the upcoming J&K election from Ganderbal seat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted that his government has done more for women in the last 10 years than any other government did as much work for women in the country since independence.

Addressing a gathering at Lakhpati Didi Sammelan in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon, PM Modi said that Modi government took decisions in favour of women one after the other. Along with empowering the women, it is also the country’s priority to ensure women’s safety, he emphasised.

Understanding the anger across states, PM Modi appealed to all the state governments to not tolerate crime against women. Anybody who commits such crimes should face strict punishment, he asserted.

He reiterated that the government will work on making three crore women ‘Lakhpati Didi’ and those who also work in self-help groups. “In the last 10 years, one crore sisters became ‘Lakhpati Didi’ and in the last one month, 11 lakh more sisters also became ‘Lakhpati Didi'”, PM Modi said.

During his address in Jalgaon, he expressed his deepest pain over the Nepal bus tragedy. “We lost many of our friends from Maharashtra’s Jalgaon”, he said.

PM Modi said that the government immediately spoke to Nepal and has been able to bring back the bodies. “Those who are injured are also being treated. I want to assure you all that the victims of this tragedy will be helped in everyway possible by the state and central government”, he added.

Speaking at the Sammelan, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said it was Modi ji’s resolution to ensure that no woman is helpless and every sister is happy. PM Modi fulfilled his promise of making 11 lakh women ‘Lakhpati didi’ in 100 days. “I have full faith that with the blessings of PM, 3 crore sister will become ‘Lakhpati didi’,” he added.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, present at Lakhpati Didi Sammelan, welcomed PM Narendra Modi, who has been the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term, on behalf of all the people of Maharashtra.

The BJP on Sunday slammed Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi after his comment on the absence of Dalit, Tribal, and OBC from the Miss India list.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks about the representation of women from Dalit, Tribal, or Other Backward Classes communities in the Miss India pageant list.

He also accused Gandhi of stoking divisions in the country with his comments about the nationwide caste census. Rijiju pointed out that governments do not select candidates for Miss India, athletes for the Olympics, or actors for films and emphasised that leadership positions are indeed held by individuals from marginalized communities, such as the first tribal President, an OBC Prime Minister, and a record number of SC/ST Cabinet Ministers.

“Rahul Gandhi Ji can’t divide our country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that Supreme Court won’t be allowed to alter reservations in IAS, IPS, IFS, all top services recruitment. But he can’t see 1st Tribal President, OBC PM, Record Numbers of SC/ST Cabinet Ministers!” he wrote further.

B L Sreenivas Solanky, National Executive Member of BJP’s Yuva Morcha, highlighted that Riya Ekka from Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur, a tribal district, earned the Miss India title through her talent and perseverance.

He also expressed strong disapproval of Rahul Gandhi’s statement by stating, “No-one insults our OBC communities more than RaGa.”

At a ‘Samvidhan Samman Sammelan’ in Prayagraj, Gandhi mentioned that the Miss India list lacked representation from Dalit, Adivasi (tribal), or OBC women and criticized the mainstream media for the lack of representation from the 90 percent. 

“They will say Modiji embraced someone, and we have become a superpower. How have we become a superpower when 90 per cent of people have no participation”, the Congress leader wondered.

The former Congress president demanded a nationwide caste census and said it was not for any political reasons but to include the 90 per cent of India’s poor in the mainstream.