Uma will be allowed to surrender: Dharam Singh

The Karnataka police will not arrest Uma Bharti if her surrender before a Hubli court on Wednesday is "trouble free," Chief Minister Dharam Singh said in Bangalore on Wednesday.

Also Read What is the case against Uma Bharti?

He told reporters after a meeting with top police officials that the police have been asked to allow the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister to surrender before the court.

"Depending on the situation...if the surrender is trouble-free, then the police will not arrest her," he said.

Director General of Police S N Borkar had said earlier in the day that Bharti will be arrested the moment she enters Karnataka.

A Hubli court has issued a non-bailable warrant against Bharti in a 10-year-old rioting case.

On August 14-16, 1994, way before the Bharatiya Janata Party came to hold the reins of power at the Centre, Bharti led an agitation and hoisted the Tricolour at the Idgah Maidan in Hubli, Karnataka.

Since the ground was disputed, and the BJP activists had defied an order banning assembly at the spot, a criminal case was filed against Bharti and 21 others.