A helicopter carrying Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had to make an emergency landing in Uttrakhand’s Munsiyari due to bad weather on Wednesday.

Pithoragarh District Magistrate Vinod Girish Goswami said the chopper, which was on its way to Milam Glacier, left at around 1 pm.

However, due to the cloudy weather and low visibility, it landed on a helipad in Ralam village, 42 km away, at around 1.30 pm, he said.

Additional Chief Election Officer of Uttarakhand Vijay Kumar Jogdande is with the CEC, he said.

There were three people on board the helicopter apart from the pilot. They are all safe and waiting for the weather to clear up to return to Munsiyari, the DM said.

They have the necessary communication equipment including satellite phones, he added.

“I have talked to the CEC twice. They are all safe. If the weather clears up, they will be taken back to Munsiyari and if it does not, they will rest at the ITBP camp near Ralam,” the DM said.

On Tuesday, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the upcoming Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections.

Maharashtra will vote in a single phase on November 20, while Jharkhand will witness voting in two phases on November 13 and November 20. The counting of the votes will take place on November 23, according to ECI. 

Addressing the media on Tuesday, CEC Kumar said that the date of issue of Gazette notification for the Maharashtra Assembly election is October 22, and the last date for filing nominations is October 29. He added that the date for scrutiny of nominations will be October 30 and the last date for withdrawal of candidates is November 4. 

The 2024 Maharashtra election will see a key contest between the Maha Vikas Aghadi (Shiv Sena-UBT, NCP-Sharad Pawar faction, Congress) and the ruling Mahayuti Alliance (BJP, Shiv Sena-Eknath Shinde faction, NCP-Ajit Pawar faction). 

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday expressed his concern over terrorism, extremism and separatism during his address at a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Islamabad, Pakistan. He said cooperation must be based on mutual respect and sovereign equality and that it should recognise the territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations.

During his address at the 23rd SCO meeting, he asserted that cooperation in areas like trade, energy and connectivity is unlikely to flourish if activities across borders are characterised by terrorism, extremism and separatism.

“SCO cannot progress if we cherry-pick global practices, especially of trade and transit,” the EAM said.

The External Affairs Minister led the Indian delegation at the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) summit in Islamabad which was chaired by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The dignitaries, comprising seven Prime Ministers from Russia, China, Belarus, and Central Asian nations, Iran’s Vice President, and Jaishankar, assembled for a group photograph on earlier today, followed by the plenary session of the 23rd SCO CHG.

Jaishankar said trust was key for cooperation and the SCO member nations can benefit immensely if the grouping moves ahead collectively.

He said SCO’s primary goal of combatting terrorism, separatism and extremism is even more crucial in current times. Jaishankar highlighted that it requires honest conversation, trust, good neighborliness and reaffirming commitment to SCO Charter.

“SCO needs to be firm and uncompromising in countering the ‘three evils’,” Jaishankar said. Globalization and rebalancing are current day realities and that there is need for SCO countries to take it forward, he added.

“It should recognise territorial integrity and sovereignty. It must be built on genuine partnerships, not unilateral agendas. It cannot progress if we cherry-pick global practices, especially of trade and transit,” he said, in remarks seen as an indirect reference to China’s assertive behaviour on key issues. 

Earlier, former Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri has described External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s trip to Islamabad as a ‘positive step’, suggesting it could help ease tensions between the two nations. This statement follows Jaishankar’s comments dismissing the likelihood of bilateral talks during his visit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on becoming the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and said the Centre will work closely with him and his team for J&K’s progress.

In a post on X, PM Modi said, “Congratulations to Shri Omar Abdullah Ji on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Wishing him the very best in his efforts to serve the people. The Centre will work closely with him and his team for J&K’s progress.”

Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. This is the first elected government in the Union Territory since 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated.

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among others who attended Abdullah’s oath-taking ceremony at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar today.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to Omar Abdullah, who is taking over as chief minister for a second term, making him the third generation of the Abdullah family to occupy the office after his grandfather Sheikh Abdullah and father Farooq Abdullah.

Five ministers – Sakina Masood (Itoo), Javed Dar, Javed Rana, Surinder Choudhary, and Satish Sharma – also took the oath of office.

Surinder Chaudhary, an NC leader from Jammu, was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

Choudhary is the NC MLA from Nowshera in Jammu, and Sakeena Itoo is the NC MLA from Damhal Hanjipora in Kashmir. Javed Rana is also an NC MLA from Mendhar in Jammu, while Javed Dar is an NC MLA from Rafiabad, Kashmir. Satish Sharma is an independent MLA from Chhamb in Jammu, supporting the NC-Congress alliance.

The Congress, which was an ally of the National Conference, has decided not to be part of the new Jammu and Kashmir government.

“Congress has strongly demanded from the Centre to restore Statehood to J&K, besides the Prime Minister has time and again in public meetings promised the same. But the Statehood has not been restored to J&K. We are unhappy therefore we are not joining the Ministry at the moment, JKPCC chief added and said Congress Party shall continue to fight for restoration of Statehood,” party’s J-K chief Tariq Hameed Karra said explaining why Congress stayed out of government.