The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday launched a three-day, nationwide agitation to protest the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi by the Tamil Nadu Police in a murder case.

BJP chief Lal Kishenchand Advani early in the morning started a day-long fast in New Delhi as part of this agitation.

Top party leaders, including Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Najma Heptullah and Varun Gandhi, joined him in the fast.

Senior BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Jaswant Singh will observe a day-long fast on Sunday and Monday, respectively.

Photograph:TEKEE TANWAR/AFP/Getty Images