BJP leader Kalyan Singh arrested on way to Ayodhya

Lucknow, Feb 4: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice-president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh along with his supporters was arrested on the Lucknow-Barabanki border while proceeding to Ayodhya today.

Mr Singh was scheduled to march to the riot-hit Gorakhpur after offering prayers to Ram Lala in Ayodhya.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajiv Krishan said Mr Singh and his supporters, including the Mayor of Lucknow Dinesh Sharma, were arrested at Chinnahat.

Earlier, Mr Singh along with his supporters sat on a 'dharna' on the busy Lucknow-Barabanki highway after the delegation was detained at Chinnahat police station on their way to Gorakhpur enroute Faizabad.

The former Chief Minister said he sat on a 'dharna' following the high--handness of the state administration for not allowing him to offer prayers at Ayodhya.

''If they wanted, they could have detained me between Faizabad and Gorakhpur,'' he said.

Mr Singh alleged the act of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government as ''anti-Hindu''.

''The state government is only interested in garnering the Muslim votes by ''harassing'' the majority community,'' he said.

He said lodging of fake criminal cases against BJP MP Yogi Adityanath and other leaders were part of the ''bigger conspiracy'' hatched by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government.

The 'dharna' had created road blockade on the busy Lucknow-Barabanki highway, with vehicles stranded for almost five kilometers.

UNI