Shah on two-day tour of J-K

Union Home Minister Amit Shah commenced his two-day tour of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday by paying tributes to Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder and BJP ideologue Syama Prasad Mukherjee on his death anniversary. Soon after his arrival in the city, Shah drove to the BJP headquarters at Trikuta Nagar and joined party leaders, including Union Minister Jitendra Singh and J-K unit president Ravinder Raina, to pay homage to Mukherjee.

Mukherjee, who strongly opposed the now-scrapped Article 370 that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, died under mysterious circumstances on this day in 1953, shortly after his arrest in Jammu and Kashmir following his agitation for ”Ek desh mein do vidhan, do pradhan aur do nishan nahi chalenge” (A single country cannot have two constitutions, two prime ministers, and two national emblems).

Shah garlanded the statue of the Jana Sangh founder installed at the BJP headquarters amid chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee Ji Amar Rahe”.

Singh and Raina along with other leaders also offered floral tributes to Mukherjee.

Tight security arrangements have been made across Jammu and Kashmir in connection with the home minister’s visit during which he is also scheduled to address a public rally in Bhagwati Nagar area to highlight achievements of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

Shah will lay the foundation stone of the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Samba through virtual mode. He will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development schemes in the city.

Later in the day, the home minister will travel to Srinagar where he will attend a function at Raj Bhavan for the inauguration and laying foundation stone of various development projects.

He will also attend the ‘Vitasta’ festival organised by the Union Ministry of Culture in the city.

On Saturday, the home minister will lay the foundation stone of the ‘Validan Stambh’ in Srinagar before returning to the national capital.