BJP MLAs to stage sit-in in Jammu

BJP MLAs in Jammu and Kashmir will stage a sit-in outside the Raj Bhawan on August six to protest what the party alleged failure of the NC-Congress government to maintain law and order in the valley.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of party legislators here, chaired by state BJP chief Shamsher Singh Manhas.

The meeting expressed concern over the law and order situation in Kashmir valley and slammed the state government for instituting inquiries into actions of the security forces during the current turmoil, party sources said.

The meeting took strong exception to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's statement terming the current situation as a political problem, they said.

The valley was, in fact, facing a law and order problem, the legislators said.

The meeting felt the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was need of the hour and any move to dilute it would only encourage anti-national forces, the sources said.