The presence of several government employees, including two to three Intelligence Bureau personnel, at Baisaran meadow in Kashmir’s Pahalgam may be a coincidence, but they had one thing in common: the government’s revised policy of encouraging them to travel to the Union Territory on vacation. The Centre’s tweaked Leave Travel Concession (LTC) norms encourage government employees to go on vacation to J&K and allow even a lower-grade official to avail of air travel facilities.
Among those killed include IB officer Manish Ranjan, Navy lieutenant Vinay Narwal, young Air Force Staff Corporal Tage Hailyang and an SBI employee Shaileshbhai Kalathiya, besides two more unidentified intelligence personnel. Incidentally, the government, in its list of those killed, marked Manish as ‘Excise Inspector’, but earlier at the incident spot, in the first-person account given by his family members, he was identified as an IB official. IB sources said, other than Manish, two more agency officials were vacationing in J&K and may have been hurt. “In no way we can officially identify our officials dead or injured,” a source said. Manish was also on an LTC trip with his family when the attack unfolded.
One nation, one poll: Netas’ blues
As the BJP pushes a nationwide campaign to build support for the ‘One Nation, One Election’ initiative, many political leaders, including some from the BJP, face an existential dilemma. They argue that this reform could jeopardise the political futures of many aspirants across parties. Typically, candidates who don’t secure a Lok Sabha ticket turn to Assembly or municipal elections as alternative routes. However, with synchronised elections, this fallback option would disappear for the next five years. As one BJP leader put it, “Without staggered elections, leaders risk losing relevance over time, and new contenders could emerge. The competition for tickets will become fiercer than ever.”
Condolences pour in from US
In his post-Pahalgam killing reaction, President Donald Trump, in his typical style, referred to India and Pakistan as close friends and expressed confidence that they would “figure it out”—a variation of his usual tendency to offer mediation in global conflicts. Be that as it may, the outpouring of condolences and messages of solidarity from the United States was overwhelming. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance called Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Within three days of the attack, 75 members of Congress, 25 Senators, four governors, and almost all top US officials and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom sent in their condolences.
Synergy between Delhi govt & police
With the BJP in power in the NCT of Delhi, there appears to be a perfect synergy between the National Capital’s police establishment and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. Recently, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora was heard issuing quick orders on a missive the CM sent him. It is learnt that Delhi’s top cop has asked the Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) heading the Capital’s police districts that complaints related to the police department coming from Delhi CM’s “Jansunwai” programme must be responded to within three days and the response should also be forwarded to the Delhi government’s vigilance unit. Gupta holds a “Jansunwai” programme at her office thrice a week, during which she listens to public grievances.