Centre bowing down to pressure of separatists: Bihar Deputy CM

Patna, Jan 25 (PTI) The Centre has bowed down to thepressure of separatist forces by denying permission to seniorBJP leaders to hoist the national tricolour at Lal Chowk onRepublic Day, senior party leader Sushil Kumar Modi saidtoday.

"It seems that the Centre has succumbed to pressurefrom divisive and separatist forces by getting senior partyleaders like Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumararrested," Modi said at a function organised to mark the 88thbirth anniversary of former chief minister Karpoori Thakur.

Stating that separatist leaders in the Kashmir Valleyhad announced that they would undertake a march to Lal Chowkand would not allow hoisting of the flag, Modi rued that "thegovernment has arrested senior BJP politicians instead ofputting the separatist leaders behind bars."

Expressing dismay that thousands of BJP activists fromBihar and other states had been denied permission to enterJ-K, the Bihar deputy chief minister said "isn''t it a matterof surprise that people who want to unfurl the national flagat a place within the country on Republic Day are beingprevented this way." PTI AJK SUS