Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrives in J&K for a three-day visit [details]

Amid unprecedented security cover, Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Jammu on Monday evening for a three-day visit to the Union Territory to review the ground situation. Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary Arun Mehta, and other senior civil and police officers received the Home Minister at the technical area of Jammu airport.

Senior local BJP leaders, Ravinder Raina, Nirmal Singh, and others were also present. Shah is staying at the Raj Bhavan for the night. Highly placed sources said that during his three-day visit to the Union Territory, the Union Minister will get feedback about the ground situation in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

After landing in Jammu on Monday, the Union Minister tweeted that he is enthusiastic to hold interaction with cross sections of the society.

The tweet of the Home Minister is a clear indication that he will hold interaction with cross sections of the society to seek their opinion about different schemes launched by the Union Government after the abrogation of Article 35-A and amendments to Article 370.

Likely to announce Scheduled Tribe status for Pahari-speaking people

As reported earlier, Union Home Minister is likely to announce the Scheduled Tribe status for the Pahari-speaking people of Jammu and Kashmir. During his three-day stay at Jammu, Union Home will address two big rallies in Rajouri district of Jammu province and Baramulla district of Kashmir division.

At Srinagar, the Union Home Minister will review the security situation in the Union Territory in general and Kashmir Valley in particular.

On Tuesday morning, Shah will head towards Mata Vaishno Devi shrine situated at Trikuta Hills in the Reasi district. On the auspicious occasion of Maha Navami, Amit Shah will perform a special pooja at Mata Vaishno Bhawan.

The J&K BJP president, Ravinder Raina said Amit Shah's rallies at Rajouri and Baramulla will be "historic" due to the overwhelming response of the people.

"These will be the biggest rallies in the history of Rajouri-Poonch and north Kashmir," he said.
Asked whether Shah will make any announcement about assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Raina said it is the prerogative of the Election Commission of India to announce elections, but the BJP is ready for Assembly polls in J&K.

Security tightened during Amit Shah's visit to Jammu and Kashmir

Security has been tightened for the three-day visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Jammu and Kashmir.

There have been two major terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir over the past week.
Officials on Monday said a multi-tier security arrangement has been put in place for the Union Home minister's visit and drones are being used for aerial surveillance as well.

The checking on Jammu-Poonch and Srinagar-Baramulla highways has been intensified, while additional police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed to keep a close watch on the situation.

Police and CRPF personnel have been deployed at several places in Srinagar as well as elsewhere in the Valley as part of the security measures.