By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : A shutdown called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday to protest the alleged callous attitude of the central government towards railway development in Kerala affected normal business on the occasion of the state’s 51st formation day.
Justifying the call for a shutdown on the day of President Pratibha Patil’s visit to the state, BJP’s state unit president P.K. Krishnadas Wednesday said his party had announced plans for the shutdown a month ago.
“Instead of appealing to us to shift the date of the shutdown, the state government should have approached the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) leaders in Delhi to postpone Thursday’s inauguration of the Salem Railway Division,” he said.
The setting up of the new Salem Railway Division in Tamil Nadu has led to a controversy as Kerala lawmakers claim that a portion of the state’s Palakkad division has been added to the new division.
Following protests, the UPA leadership agreed that Kerala would be adequately compensated by way of allowing the public sector Steel Industries Kerala Ltd. to manufacture products for Indian Railways.
Due to the shutdown, all public transport vehicles remained off the roads. There were also reports of skirmishes at a few places between BJP workers and those who tried to resist the call for the shutdown.
However, a large number of people dressed in traditional attire thronged the venue of a public reception for the president in the state capital.
This is the 30th shutdown in the state this year. Leading the pack of those organisations that have called for shutdowns is the opposition Congress led United Democratic Front (UDF) with nine shutdowns.
The next in line is the BJP, which might its eight shutdown call Thursday while the ruling Left Democratic Front has called for four shutdowns.