Advani's yatra disrupted, shown black flags in Punjab

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The Jan Chetna Yatra of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani was disrupted as it entered Punjab on Sunday afternoon from this south-west Punjab town.

Activists of the Akali Dal-Amritsar, which is led by radical Sikh leader Simranjit Singh Mann, and some Muslim groups protested against the yatra and even showed it black flags.

The Punjab Police took into custody over 50 activists of the Akali Dal-Amritsar. The route of Advani's entourage had to be changed in Bathinda town to avoid more protests.

Advani was given a rousing reception earlier as the yatra, which is against rampant corruption, mis-governance and black money in the country, entered Punjab from Haryana.

He was received by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his daughter-in-law and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal and other senior Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP leaders.

The yatra will move through various parts of Punjab till Tuesday.

Flagged off from Chapra by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Oct 11, Advani's 40-day Jan Chetna campaign is being conducted to highlight the issues of black money, corruption, electoral reforms and judicial reforms.

Before ending his yatra in Delhi Nov 20, he is scheduled to traverse 12,000 km criss-crossing 23 states and four union territories and will cover 100 districts.