The foolproof police bandobast by the Akhilesh Government took the shine off the much-hyped 84-kosi yatra of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) around Ayodhya as a large number of VHP activists and sants were arrested on Sunday.
Annoyed with the UP Government’s crackdown, the VHP gave a call for nation-wide protest on Monday, and termed the Government order to ban the religious procession anti-Constitutional. The main protest will be held at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday.
In lucknow, Government officials said the day passed off peacefully as no sant was allowed to take out the yatra. “At least 1,698 people were arrested across the State,” said ADG (law & Order) RK Vishwakarma, adding that 600 arrests were made in Faizabad-Ayodhya alone. The ADG informed that the arrested persons would remain in police custody till September 13.
long queues of stranded trucks laden with essential commodities could be seen in Barabanki and Gonda as the administration had sealed off the two districts, along with four others.
Meanwhile, amid claims and counter claims by the VHP and the Uttar Pradesh Government about the success of the yatra, all the top VHP leaders were arrested on the first day of the 20-day-long yatra.
The Government has issued a Statewide alert against VHP’s proposed agitation to be held at all district headquarters on Monday. The VHP claimed that its yatra was kicked off at Saryu Ghat when Praveen Bhai Togadia offered ‘puja’ before his arrest in Ayodhya.
The yatra was slated to start from Makhaura in Basti district.State Home Secretary Kamal Saxena said that the security level in Barabanki, Faizabad, Gonda, Basti, Ambedkar Nagar and Bahraich, through which the yatra was to pass, would not be lowered till September 13 or the date when the VHP calls off the yatra.
Faizabad District Magistrate Vipin Dwivedi himself chased BJP’s former MlA lalu Singh by his car to arrest him.The VHP activists also burnt the effigy of Cabinet Minister Mohammad Azam Khan, saying that the ban was imposed on the yatra at his behest.
According to the government figures, 625 arrests were made in Faizabad, 65 in Basti, 100 in Kanpur, 53 in Sultanpur, 59 in Ambedkar Nagar, 20 in Sant Kabir Nagar, 4 in Bahraich, 13 in lucknow and 167 in Barabanki.
VHP patron Ashok Singhal was arrested at lucknow Airport after a 3-hour-long drama; Praveen Togadia and Ram Vilas Vedanti were detained in Ayodhya; BJP’s former MlA lalu Singh was held in Faizabad. BJP MlA Savtri Bai Phule was arrested in Bahraich, while BJP MlA Ramchandra Yadav was detained at Charbagh railway station in lucknow.
Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was arrested and then released by the police in Ayodhya. However, the police officials failed to explain how Togadia entered Ayodhya on Saturday when there was ban on the entry of the VHP leaders.