Bangalore: The cancellation of the Karnataka leg of the Bharatiya Janata Party's `Bharat Suraksha Yatra' following the death of the Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar and the Meerut fire tragedy has been acknowledged as a right decision by the party's national leader L.K. Advani and the State party leadership.

Mr. Advani and the others are seen as having reckoned with the sombre mood of the people of Karnataka in view of the death of Dr. Rajkumar. Mr. Advani's gesture in flying down to Bangalore to console Dr. Rajkumar's family has gone down well, according to the party.

Disappointment

However, the last-minute cancellation no doubt came as a great disappointment to State party leaders and workers who had made elaborate arrangements at the various places that Mr. Advani's yatra was scheduled to have passed through.

The party's national president, Rajnath Singh, had to alter the itinerary of his yatra in view of the fire tragedy in his home State of Uttar Pradesh. He has set out for Delhi from Cuttack in Orissa.

Mr. Advani justified the cancellation of the yatra stating that it was inappropriate for the political yatra to pass through the State when the people were mourning the death of Dr. Rajkumar. Mr Advani was scheduled to enter State from Dhulked, a village on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, to address a public meeting in Bijapur, on the day of Dr. Rajkumar's death.

But, a political meeting in Bijapur was converted into a condolence meeting. The party's district unit office-bearers and Bijapur MLA Appasaheb Mallappa Pattanashetty informed the people about the reason for the change and paid tributes to Dr. Rajkumar.

Decision was unanimous

The decision to cancel the yatra in Karnataka was a unanimous one. Mr. Advani announced the decision after an hour-long meeting with BJP national general secretary H.N. Ananth Kumar, MP, who was in charge of the yatra, Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, State BJP president D.V. Sadananda Gowda and the former Union Minister Basavaraj Patil Yatnal.

State BJP leaders and a cross-section of the people of Bijapur, Bagalkot and Bellary districts have welcomed Mr. Advani's decision to cancel the yatra in the State. A Minister said, "It is truly a correct decision and reflects the stature of Mr. Advani."

The yatra, the fifth in Mr. Advani's political career, is directed against violence, terrorism and in support of good governance. It would have been incorrect to take out the yatra in a grief-stricken State, felt party leaders in Bijapur district.

To cover nine States

The four-day yatra in the State (April 12 to 15) was to have covered Bijapur, Bagalkot, Hubli and Bellary districts, which have elected BJP candidates to the Lok Sabha. With the cancellation of the Karnataka leg of the yatra, Mr. Advani will pass through nine other States, covering 5,500 km.

After a two-day break, Mr. Advani will resume his yatra in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday.

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