Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani continued to face protests on the second day of his Jan Chetna Yatra in Punjab.
Activists of the pro-hardline fringe Akali factions and radical Sikh organisations disrupted his public rally at Amritsar late Monday evening by raising pro-Khalistan slogans.
Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann was detained as he attempted to lead a group of activists to disrupt the campaign. Mr. Mann had earlier announced that his party would oppose Mr. Advani's yatra as he had openly supported Operation Blue Star in 1984.
Slogan-shouting men disrupted Mr. Advani's first public meeting in the holy city. While the BJP workers clashed with the protesters, the security forces had a tough time in restoring order, after which Mr. Advani resumed his speech.
Three persons were reportedly taken into custody.
Black flags waved
There were reports that some protesters threw eggs at Mr. Advani's rath enroute Ludhiana on Sunday evening. Activists of some radical organisations waved black flags when the yatra passed by Barnala town.
In his address at various places, Mr. Advani continued to target the UPA and reiterated that the BJP along with its allies would force the Congress and its ruling alliance partners into disclosing the names of the political leaders and others, whose black money had been stashed away in Swiss banks.
He was confident that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents would succeed in exposing the involvement of the Congress leaders in rampant corruption at various places.
While urging UPA chairperson and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, to break her silence on the 2G scam, Mr. Advani said that the issues of corruption, black money and inflation would be discussed thoroughly in the forthcoming winter session of Parliament.
He said that with the “massive support” from the people and “right thinking” Congress leaders, the NDA would force the UPA to concede the demand of initiating the process of bringing back black money.
