Leader of the Opposition Lal Kishenchand Advani on Wednesday kicked off the Bharatiya Janata Party's seven-day 'satyagraha' in Bangalore to press for withdrawal of cases against former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti, now in judicial custody in Dharwad.

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Advani unfurled the Tricolour to mark the launch of the campaign.
 
The Karnataka government has already made moves to withdraw the cases. It submitted before the high court on Monday that it stood by a 2002 cabinet decision to withdraw the cases.

BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu, vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Karnataka BJP chief Ananth Kumar are also taking part in the first phase of the 'satyagraha'.

Bharti is facing charges of attempt to murder and rioting filed against her after she defied curfew in Hubli in 1994 to
hoist the Tricolour at the disputed Idgah Maidan.