BJP calls for decisive fight for Yogi Adityanath's release

Varanasi, Feb 7 (UNI) Equating the recent arrest of its MP from Gorakhpur Yogi Adityanath with the 2004 arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya Swami Jayendra Saraswati, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) today gave a call for a decisive fight to secure the release of its firebrand leader.

''The arrest of Mr Yogi by the Uttar Pradesh government was similar to the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya by the Tamil Nadu government in 2004. The only difference between the two cases is while Swami Jayendra Saraswati is a Jagadguru, Adityanath is a saint cum public representative,'' party national general secretary Vinay Katiyar alleged while talking to mediapersons here.

''After all the former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha who got the Kanchi seer arrested is now hand-in-glove with the UP chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav whose government ordered the arrest of Yogi Adityanath,'' he said.

''Ab humhara har karyakarta Yogiji ki rihai ke liye aar ya paar ki ladai ladne ko taiyar hai'' (the BJP rank and file is all geared up to launch a decisive fight for securing release of Mr Yogi), one of the frontal leaders of Ram temple movement, Mr Katiyar said.

Mr Katiyar who started off his 'parivartan yatra' on February 5 from the shrine of Goddess Vindhyavasini in the neighbouring Mirzapur district reached Varanasi late last night.

''The response to the yatra has been exciting exhibited from the 15 crowded public meetings on the route from Mirzapur to Varanasi.

This yatra will turn into a march tomorrow with BJP activists from all corners of the state reaching Gorakhpur for the release of Yogi Adityanath,'' he maintained.

Mr Katiyar warned any attempt by the Uttar Pradesh government to stop BJP workers from reaching Gorakhpur will force the party to put up road blockades across the country.

The BJP leader also denied the 'parivartan yatra' had anything to do with the coming Assembly elections in the state.

UNI