News18 Daybreak | EU MPs Head to Kashmir Today as Oppn Leaders Fume at Govt For Not Being Allowed and Other Stories You Need to Watch Out For

Today’s Big Stories

Govt permission for EU delegation’s 'unofficial' Kashmir visit today signals a shift in stand

Nearly three months after the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, a delegation of European Union Parliamentarians will make an “unofficial" visit to Jammu and Kashmir today to see the ground situation. The visit signals a shift in the government’s stand as it had previously not allowed US lawmakers to visit the state. The move, however, met with criticism from several leaders of opposition parties like Jairam Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor. People’s Democratic People (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti also tweeted asking why Rahul Gandhi was barred from visiting Kashmir while “far right & fascist leanings EU MPs" were being brought in. Barring three members, all the members in the delegation are from far-right parties of their countries. The delegation was briefed by PM Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval on Monday.

Shiv Sena warns BJP it may look for alternatives if CM post not shared

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Monday upped the ante against ally BJP, saying his party should not be compelled to look for an alternative to form the next government in Maharashtra and asserted there are "no saints in politics". The BJP and the Sena, with 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the new Assembly, are locked in a bitter tussle over sharing of power. Ever since the results were announced on October 24, there have been statements from sections in the Congress-NCP, though not officially, hinting that a move by the Sena to look beyond the BJP for government formation may get positive feelers.

In Other News

Militant attack: In yet another attack on a non-local trucker in the Kashmir Valley, a driver from Udhampur region was allegedly shot dead by militants in Bijbehara in Anantnag on Monday. Narayan Dutt, a resident of Katra in Udhampur district, was fired upon by the militants in the evening in the Kanilwan area of Bijbehara in the south Kashmir district. Dutt died on the spot.

Another defection: Shankarrao Gadakh, an NCP-backed Independent legislator in Maharashtra, on Monday offered support to the Shiv Sena, which is pushing for an equal share in power with ally BJP in the next government. The MLA from Nevasa in Ahmedanagar district made the announcement after meeting Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence.

Tragic: The two-year-old boy who was stuck in an abandoned borewell near Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu since Friday has died. Sujith Wilson had fallen into the disused farm borewell while playing near his house in Nadukattupatti on Friday evening, and various central and state agencies were called in to rescue him.

Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia: Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched down in Saudi Arabia, after King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud invited him to attend the Plenary Session of the 3rd Future Investment Initiative Forum being held in Riyadh. Ahead of the visit, Modi said that establishment of a Strategic Partnership Council will further elevate the relations between the two countries.

Health complaints: Former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, who is currently in the custody of Enforcement Directorate in the INX Media case, was taken to AIIMS on Monday after he complained of stomach ache and other related issues, and was discharged after treatment.

Student protest: Students and schoolchildren hit the streets of Baghdad and southern Iraq on Monday to join escalating calls for the government to quit, defying the education minister, legal threats and even their parents. Parts of the country have been engulfed by protests this month, with anger over unemployment.

On Our Specials

Legalise it: In times not very far back in Delhi’s political history, if a politician was introduced as “zameen se jude hue neta", it did not mean the person was necessarily a grassroots leader. It often conveyed that they were associated with land dealings in the capital’s unauthorised colonies. The central government this week decided to regularise all the 1,797 such colonies in the city ahead of the assembly polls expected around January next year. That it’s a politically expedient decision goes without saying with more than a third of the city’s population living in these localities spread over 35 of its 70 assembly constituencies. Sidharth Mishra writes why legalising Delhi's unauthorised colonies is politically expedient but environmentally mournful.

On Reel

Delhi's air quality level worsened to 'very poor' levels, a day after Diwali as residents in several parts of the national capital flouted the Supreme Court's two-hour rule and burst crackers late into the night on Oct 27. Watch to know more.

Curated and compiled by Karan Anand