Advani's UP rally postponed

BJP Agra district president Ashok Rana said they will decide after consultation with state president Lakshmi Kant Vajpayee and others.



"In a way, it's a relief for Advaniji who would have been asked to state his position vis-a-vis Modi, a subject he would perhaps like to avoid for a few days," party sources said.

Agra District Magistrate Zuhair Bin Saghir and senior police officials have been trying to convince BJP leaders that the time was not right to hold a rally in the present circumstances when passions were running high in the aftermath of communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and nearby areas that left 47 dead.

On Friday, police and paramilitary forces marched through Akola town. A team of police was sent to uproot tents at the rally venue.

"Right now, the whole area is tense and people are fuming with anger," BJP leaders said in Agra.

Some BJP leaders said they were ready to court arrest Sunday to defy restrictions and Section 144 that prohibits unlawful assembly.