He was a cancer patient and a retired state government employee and died by suicide on December 25.

There is no clarity about INDIA alliance’s leadership or agenda and the Opposition bloc must be dissolved if it was just formed for the Parliament election last year, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said today.

The National Conference leader was responding to a question on Delhi Assembly polls, which is witnessing a three-cornered fight between the AAP, BJP and the Congress. Interestingly, the AAP and the Congress tied up for the Lok Sabha election months back.

#WATCH | Jammu: J&K CM Omar Abdullah says, “… I cannot say anything about what’s going on in Delhi because we have nothing to do with Delhi Elections… As far as I remember, there was no time limit to the INDIA alliance. Unfortunately, no INDIA alliance meeting is being… pic.twitter.com/u9w9FazeJG

— ANI (@ANI) January 9, 2025

“I cannot say anything about this because we have nothing to do with Delhi elections. AAP, Congress and the other parties on the ground must decide how to combat the BJP… As far as I remember, there was no time limit to the INDIA alliance. Unfortunately, no INDIA alliance meeting is being organised so there is no clarity about leadership, agenda, or our (INDIA bloc’s) existence… They should wind up the alliance in case it was just for the Parliament elections..,” Mr Abdullah told news agency ANI in reply to a question on the Delhi election and INDIA alliance.

Over the past few weeks, leaders of the AAP and Congress have been targeting each other in their campaign for the capital contest. While Congress leaders have accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led party of corruption and poor governance, AAP has alleged that the Congress is hand-in-glove with the BJP.

Questions regarding the future of INDIA bloc and its leadership have emerged in the months following the general election, which saw a united Opposition make big gains.

In the aftermath of the Congress suffering poll setbacks, questions have also been raised if the main opposition party should lead the INDIA bloc. Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee has offered to lead the bloc if given an opportunity and several partners have backed her.

Earlier, Mr Abdullah had said that the Congress must not take the leadership for granted. “By virtue of being the single largest party in Parliament, and also having the leader of opposition in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the fact that they have a pan-India footprint, which no other party can lay claim to, they are natural sort of leaders of an opposition movement,” Mr Abdullah said. “Yet there is a sense of disquiet among some of the allies because they feel the Congress is “not doing enough to justify it or to earn it or to keep it. That’s something the Congress might wish to consider,” he said.

As thousands flee their homes in California due to wildfires, US President-Elect Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on Governor Gavin Newsom, saying “this is all his fault” and he must quit. Earlier, Trump alleged that the Governor’s policies were to blame for the situation in some of the US’s most prominent cities. The Governor has hit back, saying people are fleeing and the President-Elect’s response is to politicise it.

Among the worst-hit areas is Los Angeles, home to top Hollywood celebrities. At least five people have been killed and 1,500 buildings damaged as firefighters struggle to control the blaze. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said they don’t have enough firefighters to tackle the situation. “We’re doing the very best we can. But no, we don’t have enough fire personnel in LA County between all the departments to handle this,” he said, according to an AFP report.

In a post on TruthSocial, Trump alleged that the California Governor had refused to sign a water restoration declaration that would have allowed millions of gallons into California. Referring to Newsom as “Newscum”, he said, “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way.”

“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!” Trump added.

In a post later in the day, the President-Elect said the Governor must resign. “One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” he said.

Hitting back at the President-Elect’s charge, the California Governor’s office said the Governor is focused on saving people instead of politics. “There is no such document as the water restoration declaration – that is pure fiction. The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need,” his office said in a post on X.

People are literally fleeing. Kids have lost their schools. Communities have lost their churches. Families have lost their homes. Some have even lost their lives.

And the President-Elect’s response is to politicize it.

We’ll continue to focus on what matters: saving lives and… pic.twitter.com/DPJLsKxHDW

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 9, 2025

The Governor slammed the President-Elect from his account. “People are literally fleeing. Kids have lost their schools. Communities have lost their churches. Families have lost their homes. Some have even lost their lives. And the President-Elect’s response is to politicize it,” he said. “We’ll continue to focus on what matters: saving lives and putting out these unprecedented fires.”

Much of Los Angeles’ water comes from the Colorado River, and agriculture takes the lion’s share of water flowing into Southern California, AFP has reported.

Outgoing President Joe Biden has cancelled a trip to Italy to focus on the firefight. “We’re doing anything and everything, and as long as it takes to contain these fires,” he has said.