Home Minister Amit Shah’s J&K visit rescheduled to Oct 4, 5: BJP leader Ravinder Raina

JAMMU: Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir from September 30 has been postponed and he will arrive next week to address two mega rallies, a senior BJP leader said Tuesday.

Director General of Police Dilbag Singh, who visited Rajouri and Baramulla the venues of the two public rallies said all necessary security arrangements have been made.

Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina said the home minister’s visit has been rescheduled for October 4 and 5 when he will tour Rajouri in Jammu and Baramulla in north Kashmir and address public rallies.

Earlier, he was supposed to reach Jammu on a three-day visit to the Union Territory on September 30 and hold public meetings in Rajouri on October 1 and Baramulla on October 2.

“I received a call from the office of the Home Minister and was told that since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for Tokyo for the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Shah has to stay at the national capital and cannot attend any function outside it,” Raina, who is currently on a tour of Rajouri to supervise arrangements for the rally, said.

Earlier in the day, the police chief, accompanied by Additional Director General of Police, Jammu, Mukesh Singh visited Rajouri and chaired a high-level meeting to review the arrangements in connection with the VVIP’s visit.

He visited Baramulla in north Kashmir the previous day.

“All required security arrangements are being made (for the visit of the Union home minister,” the police chief told reporters in Jammu.

“We are keeping a close watch and looking at the security requirements on a day-to-day basis,” he said, adding, “Whatever inputs we have, we are acting on that and the counter-insurgency operations will continue.” (PTI)