BJP halts rallies over threat to Advani

NEW DELHI—The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has postponed about a dozen rallies over the next two months after the government warned of possible security threats, including a suicide attack, the party said.
L.K. Advani, who last month was nominated as the prime ministerial candidate for the BJP, had planned a string of rallies across India as the country gears up for a general election by early 2009.
“The government has conveyed to us that there is a credible intelligence input about a security threat to Advani,” BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told Reuters late on Tuesday. “We have deliberated on this issue and decided to postpone the rallies ... only the inaugural rally will be held as scheduled.” The party said it had no information about what group or groups might have been planning attacks.
India has been hit by frequent attacks in recent years and most have been blamed on Pakistan-based Islamist groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. Many attacks are apparently aimed at dividing majority Hindus and minority Muslims.—Agencies