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26 January 2011
Last updated at 00:45 ET
Senior leaders of the main opposition BJP have been arrested to prevent them entering Indian-administered Kashmir for a flag-raising ceremony.
Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar were detained as soon as they crossed from neighbouring Punjab state late on Tuesday.
Their plan to hoist the flag in Srinagar on Republic Day appear to have now come to an end, correspondents say.
The plan prompted fears of violence in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley.
Indian PM Manmohan Singh had appealed to the BJP to call off the rally, saying that the Republic Day, marked on Wednesday, should not be used to promote "divisive agendas".
And the chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, said he would stop the flag-hoisting ceremony because it would provoke the separatists.
Mr Abdullah has now invited the arrested BJP leaders to attend the Republic Day ceremony in Srinagar, which is being held amid tight security.
Border attempts On Monday, the three leaders were turned back at Jammu airport and sent by road to the neighbouring state of Punjab.
Along with some 500 party workers, they attempted to renter Indian-administered Kashmir again on Tuesday when they were arrested after crossing the state border.
They were kept overnight in the town of Kathua and will be produced in the court on Wednesday.
Mr Jaitley said the BJP workers were determined to go ahead with the flag-raising ceremony.
"It was a panic reaction by the government … It was a psychological surrender before separatists," he told reporters.
Ms Swaraj said the leaders had been arrested to "please the separatists".
"What is our crime? Why are we being arrested? We have been marching peacefully," she said.
On Sunday night, a train carrying 2,000 BJP workers on their way to Kashmir for the flag-raising ceremony was sent back midway.
The protesters had boarded a train in Karnataka state, but railway staff at a Maharashtra station attached the engine to the rear of the train overnight and sent it back to Karnataka.
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Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar were detained as soon as they crossed from neighbouring Punjab state late on Tuesday.
Their plan to hoist the flag in Srinagar on Republic Day appear to have now come to an end, correspondents say.
The plan prompted fears of violence in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley.
Indian PM Manmohan Singh had appealed to the BJP to call off the rally, saying that the Republic Day, marked on Wednesday, should not be used to promote "divisive agendas".
And the chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, said he would stop the flag-hoisting ceremony because it would provoke the separatists.
Mr Abdullah has now invited the arrested BJP leaders to attend the Republic Day ceremony in Srinagar, which is being held amid tight security.
Border attempts On Monday, the three leaders were turned back at Jammu airport and sent by road to the neighbouring state of Punjab.
Along with some 500 party workers, they attempted to renter Indian-administered Kashmir again on Tuesday when they were arrested after crossing the state border.
They were kept overnight in the town of Kathua and will be produced in the court on Wednesday.
Mr Jaitley said the BJP workers were determined to go ahead with the flag-raising ceremony.
"It was a panic reaction by the government … It was a psychological surrender before separatists," he told reporters.
Ms Swaraj said the leaders had been arrested to "please the separatists".
"What is our crime? Why are we being arrested? We have been marching peacefully," she said.
On Sunday night, a train carrying 2,000 BJP workers on their way to Kashmir for the flag-raising ceremony was sent back midway.
The protesters had boarded a train in Karnataka state, but railway staff at a Maharashtra station attached the engine to the rear of the train overnight and sent it back to Karnataka.
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