Senior BJP and SP leaders were arrested while several party workers injured in a clash with police during the Bharat Bandh call given by the opposition parties to protest against fuel price rise. In a bid to prevent BJP workers led by Arun Jaitely and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi from marching towards the main market and Vidhan Sabha Marg,the entire area was barricaded and cordoned off by the police. However,the party workers crossed the barricade and attempted to march towards main Hazratganj crossing. BJP workers also entered into a scuffle with the police and staged a dharna after being prevented from marching ahead. In a bid to disperse them,police first cane-charged the BJP workers and later arrested them. The senior leaders and workers have been taken to police lines. "A number of party workers and leaders were injured in the lathicharge," BJP leaders claimed. BJP state president Surya Pratap Shahi,Arun Jaitley and Naqvi were arrested along with other leaders in Lalbagh and Hazratganj area. "Today's bandh was one of the most successful agitation and it got support from all sections of the society," Jaitely claimed. He said that lathicharge on peaceful protesters by police was condemnable. While,Samajwadi Party workers led by leader of the opposition in the state assembly Shivpal Singh Yadav and state president Akhilesh Yadav took out a procession from the party office at Vikramaditya Marg. The party workers,however,managed to break the barricading while attempting to march towards Raj Bhawan. The police in a bid to stop them used water cannon and cane charged the workers. The party activists also indulged in heavy brick batting in which several party activists were injured. Later the police arrested senior party leaders,including Shivpal,Akhilesh,Ahmad Hassan and Bhagwati Singh along with a number of other workers. The bandh evoked mixed response across the state as train and road traffic was disrupted at a number of places. Reports said that SP workers disrupted movement of trains in Allahabad,Jaunpur,Etawah and other places. Tight security arrangements have been made across Uttar Pradesh in view of the bandh called by the opposition parties. Over 30 companies of PAC personnel have been deployed in various districts of the state to maintain law and order during the bandh and to avoid any untoward incident,a senior officer said here. In Lucknow,over 100 people associated with various political parties,including SP,have been arrested so far.
