BJP leaders met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday and sought Rs 10 lakh for each shopkeeper hit in the Diwali night fire at Jammu's Warehouse Market. Traders have kept the market shut until Wednesday.
The party also wants a new market built and stricter fire safety in commercial buildings. A six-member panel led by MLA Sham Lal Sharma is handling the demands.
The fire department says it handled 60 fire incidents across Jammu province that night, 35 of them in Jammu district alone.
The BJP has hit back at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for comparing Diwali to Eid, and has challenged him and Rahul Gandhi to describe Eid the same way.
Kharge made the remark while extending festive greetings over the weekend. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accused Congress of vote bank politics, while Gaurav Bhatia asked on X why Diwali cannot simply be called by its own name.
Tuhin Sinha claimed Congress wants every Hindu festival marked as an Eid, which he said would mean celebrating Eid 10 to 12 times a year.
Kareena Kapoor Khan shared a set of family photos from her Diwali on Instagram on Sunday. They feature her parents, Randhir and Babita Kapoor, sister Karisma, and elder son Taimur Ali Khan.
Her caption quoted a line from a classic film song and wished followers a happy Diwali, adding that it has always come down to loving your parents.
Earlier that week, she posed with Karisma in matching yellow outfits. Both sisters also attended designer Manish Malhotra's Diwali party in Mumbai on November 5, where Kareena wore a golden sequin saree.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin has wished the country well on Diwali, hoping citizens are blessed with joy, wealth and sound health. He said on X that he and his family worshipped Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha together that day.
Fellow BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said he lit lamps with his family at his home in Delhi and thanked the teachers who guided him into politics and social work. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, meanwhile, posted a message in Kannada saying a mother's blessings are what truly light up life.
Rahul Gandhi hosted a Diwali get-together for Congress general secretaries, in-charges and senior leaders on Friday, as the party pushes the government over alleged vote theft.
He went table to table, greeting more than 100 leaders ahead of Diwali.
PM Narendra Modi on Saturday sent Diwali wishes to citizens through a message on the government's Jan Sampark portal. He framed the festival as a reminder that brightness beats gloom, virtue beats wrongdoing and optimism beats hopelessness.
He added that Diwali is also a time to honour India's traditions and deepen togetherness, and he hoped the season would encourage people to be kinder and more upbeat. He ended by urging citizens to keep going with renewed energy and resolve toward building a prosperous, developed India.
News India Xtra@newsIndiaxtra
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