BJP, VHP hold nationwide stir

The activists disrupted rail and road traffic in BJP ruled states.

The nationwide BJP-VHP sponsored protest on Wednesday against the terror attack in Ayodhya had some impact in the saffron party ruled states where their activists disrupted rail and road traffic and barged into the Indore airport preventing a Jet Airways flight from taking off for over two hours.

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In Delhi

The BJP protest turned violent in Delhi as police used tear gas and water cannon to quell demonstrators as they overturned barricades near the venue of a demonstration to be addressed by BJP president LK Advani.

Several BJP leaders including VK Malhotra and Sushma Swaraj also courted arrest amidst slogans raised by workers.

		The site of attack: Click 'Ayodhya attacked, six militants killed'   Chronology: Ayodhya dispute   'Third major attack on religious sites   Militants were 'on a pilgrimage'   LeT suspected to be behind attack   Full Coverage: Ayodhya
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In Uttar Pradesh

In the twin cities Ayodhya and Faizabad, where security has been beefed up following Tuesday's attack, VHP and BJP activists were seen forcing shopkeepers to down their shutters. Schools, banks and government offices were open although attendance was thin, official sources said.

In several cities of Uttar Pradesh, markets remained partially closed but normal attendance was reported from educational institutions and government offices.

No untoward incident was reported from the state, where security has been beefed up in the wake of the VHP bandh call, official sources said.

However, BJP President LK Advani, who was planning to visit Ayodhya on Wednesday postponed his visit.

He will now wait for a report from senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Kalyan Singh, who are expected to reach Ayodhya later on Wednesday.

NDA coordinator George Fernandes is also likely to visit Ayodhya.

In Jharkhand 

The bandh disrupted train services in Jharkhand as hundreds of BJP activists and Shiv Sena workers squatted on the tracks at Tatanagar station.

Railway sources said the Puri-New Delhi Purusotham Express and Tata-Howrah Steel Express were detained at Tatanagar railway station paralysing the services in Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway.

Efforts by railway officials to persuade the agitators were in vain, the sources said.

There was no report of violence across the steel city where the security has been tightened.

Several schools and some shops were seen to be open despite the bandh.

In Madhya Pradesh

In Indore, BJP and VHP activists damaged the VIP lounge of the airport and caused delay in departure of a Mumbai-bound flight during saffron-sponsored bandh over the terrorist attack in Ayodhya, police said.

BJP and VHP workers forced their entry into the airport, damaged the VIP lounge and caused delay in departure of the Indore-Mumbai-Indore Jet Airways flight for some time, police added.

Indore Collector Vivek Agrawal said that the airport has been cleared by the police and flight operations would be resuming soon.

Meanwhile, the saffron workers stopped the trains near Indore railway station as part of their protest, the sources said.