VHP protests against Ayodhya yatra ban

The UP govt had banned the VHP yatra over fears of communal flare up

Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists today clashed with police during a protest against the UP government's decision to ban their Ayodhya yatra, prompting police to use water canons to disperse them.

The protestors pelted stones at police during the demonstration at Jantar Mantar here and tried to break barricades. Police had to resort to use of water canons and mild canon charge to disperse the protestors. The protestors also burnt an effigy of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. "Around 400-500 protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar around 12:30 PM.

Initially, the protest was peaceful but when some of them tried to break barricades and pelted stones, we had to use mild force to control them," said a senior police official. Two persons have been detained, police said.

The UP government had banned the VHP yatra over fears of communal flare up.

Top VHP leaders Pravin Togadia and Ashok Singhal were among around 1,700 people arrested in a massive crackdown by the UP administration yesterday.