A day after being ejected from Jammu and Kashmir, senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar tried to re-enter the state on Tuesday but were arrested at the Lakhanpur border where police turned out in strength to foil the party attempt to head to Srinagar and hoist the Tricolour at Lal Chowk.
?What can be more unfortunate that the fact those who burn the national flag are being provided security while those holding the national flag are being stopped,? Swaraj said. Courting arrest, Swaraj and Jaitley said party workers would continue their struggle to hoist the Tricolour at Lal Chowk on Wednesday.
State officials said they would look at the legal options but would want senior BJP leaders flown back to Delhi at the earliest.
The flag-hoisting yatra had the entire administration on the tenterhooks, forcing closure of educational institutes and suspension of vehicular traffic within the state.
Swaraj and Jaitley, along with nearly 500 BJP youth wing activists, proceeded towards Lakhanpur via the bridge over Ravi around 4.30 pm. Police and paramilitary personnel watched silently as the marchers, waving the Tricolour and BJP flags, began removing concertina wires to enter J&K.
Within ten minutes, all of them had crossed the police barricade. They were led to buses which were to take them to the Kathua Police Training Centre and local hotels where arrangements had been made to hold them under detention.
The BJP leaders and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha president Anurag Thakur were in a rath behind the marchers. They were the last to court arrest.
The BJYM Rashtriya Ekta Yatra planned to reach Lal Chowk on January 26 for the flag hoisting. But this was opposed by J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah who said any such move would disturb the fragile peace in the state.