Advani speaks to PM on Jaitley, Sushma
By IANSMonday, January 24, 2011
NEW DELHI - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader L.K. Advani Monday night spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to complain about BJP leaders not being allowed to leave Jammu airport to address meetings in connection with the party’s Ekta Yatra.
BJP sources said Advani spoke to prime minister to register his protest over the way authorities in Jammu prevented Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, both Leaders of Opposition in two Houses of Parliament, from leaving Jammu airport.
The sources said Advani also told the prime minister that such incidents had never happened earlier.
Sushma Swaraj, Jaitley and party general secretary Ananth Kumar were not allowed to move out of Jammu airport after they landed there by a special flight Monday afternoon. They were later taken into custody by the Jammu and Kashmir police and transported to Punjab.
The BJP leaders had planned to address a public meeting in Jammu Tuesday to coincide with the arrival of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s Ekta Yatra that plans to hoist the national flag in Srinagar Jan 26.
Former BJP president Rajnath Singh has announced he will sit on a hunger strike at Rajghat from Monday night to protest against the government decision to prevent hoisting of national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram Monday phoned Jaitley and asked him to return to Delhi from Jammu. However, the BJP leaders did not agree.
The prime minister had issued a statement Saturday that the Republic Day was not an occasion to score political points, to embarrass state and local administrations, to create situations that could lead to entirely avoidable problems, or to promote divisive agendas.
