BJP puts off anti-UPA agitation citing Naxal attack

The Bharatiya Janata Party postponed its country-wide anti-UPA agitation, which was scheduled to start Monday, in the wake of the killing of several Congress leaders in a Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh.

"The entire country is deeply distressed and concerned over gruesome killings in Chhattisgarh and we condemn it. As a consequence, the BJP has decided to postponed the jail bharo agitation to be undertaken against the failure of the UPA government from May 27 to June 2," senior party leader Ravishankar Prasad told reporters.

He said the party is holding its national executive meeting in Goa and "future programmes shall be decided there."

Prasad said a meeting under BJP President Rajnath Singh was held where "the entire challenge to country's republic and democracy due to gruesome violence by Maoists was discussed".

"The attack has left many senior Congress leaders dead or injured and we condemn it in unequivocal terms. It is a great attack on democracy and republic of India," the BJP leader said.

He said the BJP President had gone to meet senior Congress leader Vidya Charan Shukla in Gurgaon where he has been admitted after he was critically injured in Maoists firing.

Prasad said the situation in Chhattisgarh "is quite uppermost in our minds and in coming few days, other initiatives would be taken in this regard."

Heavily-armed Maoists ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district, killing 27 people including Congress leader Mahendra Karma, ex-MLA Uday Mudliyar, state unit chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son. Around 32 others, including senior party leader V C Shukla, were injured.