Red alert ahead of Modi's visit to J&K
Srinagar/Jammu, May 18: Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir were put on high alert on Friday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the state on Saturday.
All entry and exit points into Srinagar and Jammu have been sealed by police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) who allowed vehicles to enter the cities only after thorough checking and frisking of the occupants.
Makeshift barricades and mobile bunkers have been put up to regulate traffic to ensure that no unauthorized movement is allowed during the visit.
Top officials said peripheral security to the Prime Minister's visit was being provided by the Army.
Traffic jams were seen on Friday at some places both in Srinagar and Jammu cities as traffic moved at snail's pace due to multiple checkpoints.
Modi will tour all the three regions of the state during his visit.
He will inaugurate the 330 MW Kishenganga hydroelectric power project in Bandipora district in the Kashmir Valley on Saturday.
He will lay the foundation of the Zojila tunnel in Drass area of Kargil district. After completion, the tunnel would provide all-weather connectivity between the Valley and Ladakh region that otherwise remains cut off during the winter months.
Modi will also attend the 100th birth anniversary of revered Ladakhi spiritual leader, Kushak Bakula, in Leh town.
The Prime Minister will address the convocation of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) in Jammu on Sunday before returning to New Delhi.
Modi's visit to the troubled state come two days after his government announced a ceasefire against militants to provide for a peaceful environment during the holy month of Ramadan.
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BJP using women's quota bill as front to pass Delimitation Bill that will break India: Mamata
Cooch Behar (WB) (PTI): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday alleged the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was using the proposed amendment to the women's quota law in Parliament as a front for the Delimitation Bill that would "break the country into pieces".
The TMC will fight this Central government's move at every step, she asserted at her party's poll rally here.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to tweak the women's quota law, along with the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, to implement the proposed amended women's quota law, in the Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
According to the Constitution amendment bill, Lok Sabha seats will be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats will also be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
Opposing the Centre's move, Banerjee alleged that "the BJP brought the Delimitation Bill while keeping the women's reservation bill at the front".
"The BJP is trying to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha to nearly 850 through the Delimitation Bill. It will break the country into pieces," the TMC supremo said.
She also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not speaking the truth about the development of north Bengal at a BJP rally last week.
"The prime minister said nothing was done for the development of north Bengal. But we spent Rs 1.72 lakh crore on the development of the region," Banerjee said and asked Modi to cross-check data before making such remarks.
