BJP and Cong leaders arrested while proceeding to Gorakhpur

Lucknow, Jan 31 (UNI) Several senior Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress leaders were today arrested while proceeding to riot-hit Gorakhpur town in Uttar Pradesh.

The arrested leaders included UP Congress Committee President Salman Khurshid, Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari and BJP MPs Kalraj Mishra,Santosh Gangwar, S S Ahluwalia and Dharmendra Pradhan.

Mr Kalraj Mishra was arrested in Basti, while the others were stopped and rounded up in Barabanki, about 30 km from the state capital.

According to state police sources, they have been prevented from going to Gorakhpur on the apprehension that their presence might flare up communal passions.

Mr Pramod Tiwari, later talking to UNI, said hundreds of Congress workers were also arrested along with their leaders. He said the Congress was planning a peace march in Gorakhpur and by preventing him, the state government had lost a chance for the normalising the situation there which had been witnessing communal violence for the last few days.

The BJP leaders, Mr Gangwar and Mr Ahluwalia, on reaching Lucknow alleged that the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in the state was depriving people's representatives of their rights to comfort the public in tough times.

Holding UP government responsible for fanning communalism in the state, they said the arrest of BJP MP from Gorakhpur Yogi Adityanath was a black chapter of the Mulayam regime.

Mr Gangwar, the Lok Sabha member from Bareilly, said his party demanded unconditional release of Adityanath or the Mulayam government would have to face the music.

The BJP State President Keshrai Nath Tripathi has already announced an agitation if the Gorakhpur MP is not released immediately.

Mr Tripathi and Mr Lalji Tandon were also arrrested yesterday in Allahabad and Barabanki respectively.

UNI