Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha arrested

Former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha was arrested along with more than 150 Bharatiya Janata Party followers on Wednesday in Hazaribag for locking up Central government offices during working hours under an agitation programme.

The party's Hazaribag unit led by Sinha, is spearheading a 'Save dignity of Hazaribag' agitation locking up central government offices between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm since February 13.

The agitation was to protest the decision to close down two Regional Training Institutes of Direct Taxes and Central Excise and Customs in the district and for the tardy progress of the railway network.

Hazaribag Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar told PTI on phone that Sinha and his followers were arrested under 151 Criminal Procedure Code.

Sinha, a Rajya Sabha member, alleged that the United Progressive Alliance government was deliberately ignoring his home town and he will not attend Parliament for the budget session unless his demands were met.