Uma Bharti arrested, questions Sonia trip

BJP leader Uma Bharti was Tuesday arrested here amid high drama and she immediately asked police why Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were allowed to visit Muzaffarnagar.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader tried to go to the house of journalist Rajesh Verma, one of the victims of the communal violence, when she ran into a police contingent who told her not to proceed further.

The furious legislator asked the policemen why the Gandhis were let into Muzaffarnagar Monday if there was a bar on politicians' entry.

She was not satisfied when police told her that the Gandhis were part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's convoy.

Uma Bharti then staged a sit-in after which police arrested her. But as police tried to take her away, hundreds of BJP workers reached the spot and raised anti-government slogans.

Uma Bharti accused the Uttar Pradesh government of failing to ensure safety to the people of the state.

In a related development, BJP leader Vinay Katiyar said all political leaders should be allowed to go to Muzaffarnagar, where communal clashes Sep 7-9 claimed more than 40 lives and left scores injured.

Thousands have also fled their rural homes after coming under attack from marauding mobs.

"Some people are being allowed (into Muzaffarnagar) and other public representatives are being kept away. This is unfair," Katiyar told IANS.

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