BJP examining legal options on flag yatra: Advani

Terming as "illegal" the Jammu and Kashmir government's action of not allowing Bharatiya Janata Party activists to hoist the tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar, senior BJP leader L K Advani on Monday said his party was examining availability of legal options.

"Today the situation is such that if somebody hoists tricolour in Kashmir they will be put in jail. What is this? It is illegal," Advani, who was here to attend a meeting of the Somnath Temple Trust, told mediapersons.

"If I break law and I am arrested then one can understand, but how can the state government arrest somebody arbitrarily? The Jammu and Kashmir government does not want to hoist the tricolour in the state," the former deputy prime minister said.

"Our lawyers are examining legal actions that could be taken in this regard," Advani said in response to a query.

BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, who had gone to Jammu on the eve of the Republic Day, were detained by the state police and not allowed to proceed further.

Advani also criticised the United Progressive Alliance government on the issue of corruption and said it had "brought shame" to the country in the global arena. He also praised Gujarat, saying that there was least corruption and red-tapism in the BJP-ruled state.

Citing example of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Ahmedabad last month, Advani said, "People are attracted to Gujarat, and have made commitments for investment during the summit. The main reason for this is that there is less red-tapism and corruption."