The Kerala government has refused permission to the BJP to hold a public meeting marking the launch of Deputy PM L.K. Advani’s Bharat Uday Yatra on the premises of Kerala House, located close to the beach here.Advani is scheduled to embark on the yatra, to be flagged off by party chief M. Venkaiah Naidu, tomorrow morning. The BJP has been forced to hold the meeting on a narrow strip along side the sprawling Kerala House.A government official told The Indian Express here today: ‘‘The BJP had sought permission for the public meeting. This being a political function, we refused.’’ However, he hastened to add: ‘‘We have given five rooms to the party to accommodate their senior functionaries, including general secretary Pramod Mahajan.’’ Sarvana Perumal, a local BJP leader who is overseeing the arrangements, confirmed the party had been denied permission, but said: ‘‘We’ve made alternative arrangements.’’Advani, accompanied by his wife Kamala and other family members, is staying at the Tamil Nadu House. The road leading to Kanyakumari was sealed for normal traffic to provide security to Advani.Advani will begin the day by offering prayers at the Kanyakumari temple. Thereafter, he will address a public meeting on the beach. The party has lined up all its prominent Muslim faces here to counter the Opposition charge that the yatra may spark communal riots.The BJP has also roped in Zain-ul-Abedin, dewan of the Durgah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Ajmer, for the purpose. The Dewan, Union Textiles Minister Shahnawaz Hussain, party general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and former Union minister Arif Mohammad Khan reached here this evening. Khan said he had received word from the party headquarters yesterday to catch the morning flight to Thiruvananthapuram.Advani, who would cover around 250 km everyday on an average, would address roughly 20 public meetings daily. Though the BJP has a weak base in the area, the party has made massive efforts to make its presence felt. Party flags dot the yatra route. The party’s lotus symbol is suddenly jostling for space with AIADMK’s pair of leaves, DMK’s rising sun and CPI(M)’s hammer and sickle on walls of buildings along the road. Advani’s initials are written in English and the surname in Tamil and Malyalam.In Delhi, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee and NDA leaders wished Advani well for his yatra. The good wishes were conveyed to Advani after a Cabinet meeting which endorsed the dates for the Lok Sabha polls, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.Before leaving for Kerala, Advani made light of the Opposition criticism to the yatra. He said this yatra is different from the previous ones as this time he is undertaking it while being in power. ‘‘The Opposition reaction is predictable. It amuses me,’’ he said at the airport.
