Gadkari to lead BJP protest march to PM's house

Amid reports that it has reservations about fielding Nitin Gadkari at an anti-graft protest in Delhi, Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday announced the party chief will lead a march to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence as part of the nation-wide agitation on November 21.

Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta said Gadkari will participate in the march from Jantar Mantar to the PM's residence on November 21 and address the party workers.

The march is being organised to protest against "rampant corruption" by United Progressive Alliance government and Congress.

"BJP will march to the PM's house under the leadership of Nitin Gadkari," Gupta said in a statement.

While announcing the all-India protest on November 21 on the eve of the winter session of Parliament against the Congress-led UPA government, BJP had on Thursday said Gadkari will lead a rally in Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh.

The announcement was viewed as an indictor of the party's reservation in fielding Gadkari in the national capital to lead the anti-corruption protest as he himself was facing charges of dubious funding against his companies.

Defending the party's decision to field Gadkari in Itanagar, senior party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had said the party chief had earlier expressed his wish to hold a rally in Itanagar.

Gupta also said senior BJP leaders Raj Nath Singh, Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Naqvi will participate in the protest in the capital.