Subramaniam Swamy condemns arrest of BJP MP in Gorakhpur

New Delhi, Jan 30 (UNI) Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy has condemned the Gorakhpur Police for arresting BJP MP Yogi Adityanath on ''cooked-up charges of rioting'', and appealed to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to intervene and set him free.

''It is the district police which is responsible for the communal riot since they failed to act for over a week of simmering tension between the two communities,'' Dr. Swamy said in a statement.

Making an appeal to the chief minister to interevene and direct the police to set free Yogi Adityanath, he said there was no rationale for keeping the Yogi in jail for investigative purpose.

''Imprisoning a prominent personality such as Yogi Adityanath upon registering a riot case is against the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court,'' he said.

Yogi Adityanath was arrested for violating prohibitory orders followed by some violence by his supporters in Gorakhnath area to protest his arrest. Soon after, curfew was clamped in the area.

Meanwhile, a report from Gorakhpur said top Uttar Pradesh BJP leaders on way to Gorakhpur, which is witnessing communal flareup, were taken into custody by police this morning.

BJP state unit president Kesharinath Tripathi was arrested at Soraon soon after he left Allahabad for the riot-torn Gorakhpur.

Similarly, BJP legislature party leader and Leader of the Opposition in the state legislative assembly Lalji Tandon was taken into custody at Barabanki near Lucknow.

The BJP had yesterday announced to send the two leaders to Gorakhpur to take stock of the situation. It has charged the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh with orchestrating communal flare up in Gorakhpur to further its political interests ahead of the assembly polls.

UNI