Guv’s remarks...

She said it had the support of 56 members in the 87-seat assembly. Lone, whose party has two legislators, made a rival bid for power, claiming to have the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 25 lawmakers and “more than” 18 others.

Malik, who became J&K governor in August, said in Gwalior that Lone sent his letter on Whatsapp to an official who turned out to be the personal assistant of the former governor. Mufti tried to send a fax to the governor and to reach him over phone, but eventually had to tag the Governor’s Twitter account to stake claim.

Arajbhawanspokespersonin Jammu on Tuesday clarified that the governor, in taking the decision to dissolve the J&K legislative assembly on the night of November 21, acted in an “objective and impartial” manner. “There was no pressure or any kind of intervention from the Centre in the entire matter,” he said in a statement.

Governor Malik has broadly explained the last-minute dissolution of the state assembly to fears that politicians would have formed what he had described as an “opportunistic” regime.

The Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP and Omar Abdullah’s NC, who came together in a rare move, have attacked the governor’s timing of dissolving the house.

Abdullah wrote on Twitter: “I really don’t know what to make of Governor Sb revelations in Gwalior. We know the BJP & its proxies were desperate to form a government through horse trading & use of money but we’ve also never known a politically appointed governor going against the wishes of the centre.”

PDP president and former J&K chief minister Mufti termed the admission of governor unprecedented. “Leaving aside the fax machine fiasco, good to see that governor Sb refused to take dictation from Delhi, and rather opted for dissolution of assembly. This could be unprecedented, given the story of democracy in the state,’’ she said on Twitter. Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress president Ghulam Ahmad Mir said the governor had “exposed” the fact that the BJP had made efforts to form a state government and install as chief minister, a person whose party had just two legislators. “From day one BJP wanted to install the government in J&K by encouraging defections, horse trading and other things. Governor Malik has exposed the plot of the BJP,’’ Mir said.

BJP state spokesman Altaf Thakur said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a free hand to the governor unlike during “Congress rule, when decisions were taken in New Delhi and implemented in the state.” He added: “For the first time, the governor has been... directed to take those decisions which he feels are good for the state.”

On Tuesday, Lone complained of a misrepresentation of facts and gross distortion of certain events that unfolded. “I want to put the record straight. On that particular day when we all staked a claim [to form the government], I was the first one to talk to him on the phone and tell him my intention. The governor asked me to send a fax. Thereafter for three hours we tried to unsuccessfully send a fax to the Raj Bhawan. The fax would not go through. I called the governor’s secretary who had earlier put me on to him. He would not take the call. For three hours we tried and could not get through any of the Raj Bhawan numbers,” he said.

“Whenever I said that I would stake a claim, it would be done under the ambit of a constitutional provision and would be totally legitimate. I don’t know since when they have made constitutional provisions and solutions illegal – that is for the governor to clarify. We had the numbers and would have emerged victorious in a constitutionally legitimate method,” he said. leave and let someone else take my place to continue and preach god’s message,” the note in the diary read.

The police team which has been conducting a recce of the prohibited island from the water returned on Monday afternoon and reported that a group of Sentinelese were hiding in the trees and keeping an eye on the police. The tribals, they said, seemed to have their own “police set-up” to keep an eye on outsiders.

Until Monday, the Andaman police, along with the Coast Guard, have done one aerial survey above the island and three trips near the island to try and figure out a way to retrieve Chau’s body without disturbing the Sentinelese.

Andaman Police chief Dependra Pathak confirmed the development. “Initially they were hiding and did not come to the beach. They are now on guard and have been spotted in groups watching the police teams,” he said.

Pathak said police are regularly holding meetings with anthropologists and experts to find a way of communicating with the Sentinelese.

“Though we have the statements of the three fishermen, we are recreating the scene of events to be crystal clear about how Chau landed on the beach. It is a challenging case, but we will make all attempts and work round the clock to retrieve Chau’s body,” he said. locals are apprehensive that citizenship to Bangaldeshi Hindus might distort the social fabric of the state that is already battling the large-scale influx of people from across the border. But the Barak valley, or the lower part of the state which has a substantial Bengali-speaking population of Hindus from Bangladesh, wants the citizenship law.

“The whole edifice of Indian Constitution and its democratic fabric is based on the notion of citizenship being decided not on the basis of any religious background. The BJP now wants to grant citizenship on the basis of religious identity and that will be inimical to the legacy of freedom struggle. We will oppose the bill tooth and nail,” said CPI(M) politburo leader Nilotpal Basu.

The Trinamool leader added, “We don’t want the specific community names such as Christians or Hindus to be part of the bill. This is a polite way of rejecting the entire bill. Wherever possible, we will move amendments.”

Opposing the “very idea” of the bill, senior Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “The proposed amendments go against the roots and identity of India. We were created out of partition as we refused to accept a theological identity. Today, if you define citizenship on basis of religion, then you defeat the very idea of our Constitution.”

While the three Opposition parties have decided to move amendments to the bill, the Biju Janata Dal has decided to oppose the inclusion of Bangladesh. “We have toured different border states and the sense is that states such as Rajasthan or Punjab are ready to welcome any immigrants from Pakistan and Afghanistan but Assam is dead against immigration from Bangladesh. So, I will move an amendment to exclude Bangladesh and include Sri Lanka in this bill,” said Bhartruhari Mahtab, BJD’S Lok Sabha floor leader. A government official refused to comment saying that the bill is in Parliament. Earlier, the BJP had planned a campaign across the states in support of the bill.

In the last Budget session, minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju informed Rajya Sabha that, “Though India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereon, its track record in dealing with or providing protection to refugees has been internationally acclaimed. There is a provision for grant of Long Term Visa (LTV) under various instructions issued by the government from time to time. As per the available information, 486 Myanmar nationals (Rohingyas) and 2,154 Afghanistan nationals are staying in India on LTV as in 2016.” The Rajya Sabha was also informed that more than 11,000 Pakistani nationals have been granted LTVS by the government during the last four years.

Former parliamentary affairs secretary Afzal Amanullah said the government should not rush into passing the bill but try to build a consensus. “If there are serious objections to the bill that deals with immigration, it is always beneficial to have a wider consultation with stakeholders and try to push the bill only through a political consensus.”