Restive Kashmir shuts to protest Modi's visit

SRINAGAR, May 19 (Agencies): Shops, businesses and schools are shut in Indian-controlled Kashmir to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi's daylong visit to the disputed region.

Officials say Modi arrived on Saturday to review development work and inaugurate road projects.

Separatists groups who challenge India's sovereignty over Kashmir called for a daylong strike and a march to the commercial hub and main city of Srinagar to protest Modi's visit.

Government forces have warned residents to stay home in downtown Srinagar to foil protests against Indian rule.

India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim it in its entirety.

Rebels have been fighting Indian rule since 1989, demanding Indian-controlled Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

Meanwhile, Indian Kashmir came to a virtual standstill Saturday as separatist groups called for a shutdown to protest a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Muslim-majority region gripped by deadly new tensions and clashes with rival Pakistan.

Authorities cut mobile internet services in the region and ordered a curfew in parts of Srinagar.

Separatist groups opposed to Indian rule of Kashmir called for a strike and a protest march to a city square. Main roads leading to the square were barricaded by razor wire to stop anyone getting in.

"We are not taking any chances. We'll do everything to keep the militants at bay," a top police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Authorities closed schools, colleges and universities for the day in case of student protests. The main venue for Modi's visit to Srinagar, the Dal Lake tourist attraction, was made out of bounds to the public.

Modi started the tour in Leh, a remote high-altitude desert area popular with trekkers, where he inspected work on a 14 kilometer (nine mile) long tunnel connecting the Kashmir valley with the Ladakh region that is cut off in winter.

"I thank the wonderful people of Leh for the warm welcome. I am delighted to be here," Modi said on Twitter.

He went on to inaugurate the 330 megawatt Kishanganga hydropower project in Gurez. The power station is near the de facto border with Pakistan, which says the project violates the 1960 Indus Water Treaty on sharing waters from the Himalayas.

The World Bank organised two rounds of talks between the rivals on Kishanganga without resolving their differences.

"This intransigence on part of India clearly threatens the sanctity of the treaty," the Pakistan foreign ministry said in a statement Friday.

Modi was to go on to Jammu, in the Hindu-dominated part of Kashmir, before returning to New Delhi.

Earlier, the chief minister of a key Indian state plunged into a political crisis that saw Supreme Court hearings and accusations of bribery quit Saturday after admitting he did not have enough support to form a government.

BS Yeddyurappa of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stepped down after just two days in the post and minutes before he was to have faced a vote of confidence in the Karnataka state assembly.

His move ended a week of mounting acrimony between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP and the opposition Congress party. Congress, which had ruled the southern state until an election last week, will now get a new chance to form a government with a regional ally.

The battle could set the tone for a national election to be held next year.

The BJP deposed Congress as the biggest party after the Karnataka election last Saturday. But its 104 seats were not enough for a majority in the 224-member assembly.

Congress saw its numbers slashed from 122 to 78 seats but it formed a coalition with the regional Janata Dal (Secular) which finished with 37 seats.

"The mandate was not for Congress and Janata Dal. They lost the election but they indulged in opportunist politics," Yeddyurappa told the assembly.

"I have faced the test of fire all my life. I will lose nothing if I lose power. I am going straight to the governor's house to give my resignation," the 75-year-old said.

Opposition lawmakers cheered and flashed V for victory signs as Yeddyurappa left the assembly followed by his supporters.

The buildup to the resignation saw accusations of bribery and poaching made against the BJP after the state governor asked Yeddyurappa to try to form an administration even though he did not have a majority.

Congress went to the Supreme Court to try to prevent the BJP from forming a government in the prosperous state, home to the IT hub of Bangalore.