New Delhi, Several highways across the country were blocked and some trains were stopped Thursday as BJP and VHP workers took to the streets in support of their shutdown to protest revocation of the land allotment to the Amarnath shrine board in Jammu and Kashmir.

While there were reports of several trains being blocked in Agra, the Delhi-Amritsar highway was blocked by Bharatiya Janata Party and Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers. Traffic between the Indian capital and the suburb of Noida was also impacted with the protesters blocking the DND flyover.

The VHP's international general secretary Praveen Togadia claimed that the strike was completely successful. A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader added that "the impact was more visible" in states ruled by the party.

BJP and VHP workers came out in large numbers on the streets in cities like Indore, Agra, Aligarh and Bhopal. In Ahmedabad, however, the ruling BJP said it would not join the shutdown given the precarious security situation in view of the annual Jagannath rathyatra Friday.

"About 150 rathyatras are taken out in the state and keeping the security aspect uppermost in mind we have decided not to join the strike," BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Rupani informed.

He said the decision was taken after parleys with party president Rajnath Singh.

The state government, he said, had a lot at stake and wanted to ensure that the annual procession in honour of Lord Jagannath passed off peacefully. "No chances can be taken on security and communal peace," Rupani added.

He, however, clarified that the BJP strongly resented the Jammu and Kashmir government's move to cancel the allotment of 40 hectares of forest land for the Amarnath board that manages the pilgrimage to the high altitude shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva.

"Our routine protests are anyway on," he said.

EMAIL THIS NEWS COMMENTS POSTED BY GJ on July 10, 2008, 4:30 pm
If once again congress rules then the poor people are suffering. They cant handle the
inflation condition. Only one solution is BJP. In BJP most of all candidates are good compare to congress. But congress never handle or never solve the poor people problem. To develop India we have to support BJP. No other option. For pilgrims cutting the forest is totally bullshit. We have to save the world and develop the country. Think globally. Whatever it may be this time we have to support BJP.

POSTED BY sujoy on July 4, 2008, 9:44 am
Its all crap. What they want is cash on public woes. UPA is suffering a dip due to inflation however may return to power if BJP continues with such amateurish acts of nuisense.