Lucknow, Oct 17: Bowing down to pressure, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister today announced that all VHP workers who had been arrested ahead of the "Ram bhakta Sammelan" will be released without any conditions. He has also promised that the karsevaks will be allowed to perform "darshan" of Lord Ram's idol at the disputed site. The announcement came after high drama wherein VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Ram Vilas Vedanti, along with hundreds of activists thronging the temple town for the programme, were arrested this morning.
The Uttar Pradesh CM has said that all the VHP workers under detention will be allowed to walk free and arrangement will be made for peaceful "darshan" of Ram lala. Meanwhile, both the state government and VHP are claiming success in their agenda. While the VHP is claiming that it has accomplished its aim of holding a "sankalp sabha" in Ayodhya, the Mulayam government is patting its own back for successfully maintaining the law and order and communal harmony in the state.
Earlier in the day, police arrested top leaders of VHP, including Ashok Singhal and Ram Vilas Vedanti and prevented the Ram bhaktas, who had snaked into Ayodhya from reaching the venue of the planned assembly. There were some incidents of stone-pelting and disruptive activities in various places, inlcuding Ayodhya, Kanpur and Varanasi. Bureau Report