BJP shutdown hits Jammu — partly

JAMMU - A shutdown the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called Thursday to protest the “discriminatory attitude” of the central and state governments against Jammu region partly hit life here.

Traffic was thin on the roads while shops in the walled city were shut. Schools, banks and offices reported thin attendance, residents and police sources said.

Policemen and paramilitary personnel were deployed all over Jammu, the Hindu-majority winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

The strike was called by the BJP, Shiv Sena, Panun Kashmir and other groups. They accused New Delhi and the Jammu and Kashmir government of deliberately neglecting the interests of the people of Jammu.

The Panthers Party also supported the shutdown and demanded Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s resignation.

Groups based here are unhappy over the way the central government has treated Jammu while announcing an eight-point formula to end the unrest in the Kashmir Valley.