Yashwant Sinha to be in Jail for 12 More Days, Expects Advani's Visit on Tuesday

Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha will have to languish behind bars for a few more days after his jail stay was extended by 12 days but will meet with party veteran LK Advani, who is expected to visit him on Tuesday.

So far, according to an NDTV report, most senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have remained away from meeting Sinha, who was arrested 13 days ago for leading a demonstration against power cuts when some BJP workers roughed up a senior electricity board official and were hence detained.

The former finance minister, who is in a jail in Hazaribagh - a constituency that he himself had won from to represent in Parliament, will have to spend 12 more days in custody.

Sinha had earlier refused to pay the bail needed for his release, and had even admitted in court that he had ordered the BJP women workers to tie up the senior electricity board official, the report stated. His protests earlier this month were mainly against 10-hour-long power outages in Hazaribagh and Ramgarh districts.

The next hearing in Sinha's case is slated for 28 June. However, there was some good news for Sinha on Monday with regard to his agitation, with BJP leaders agreeing to be a part of Sinha's agitation against power crisis and corruption, according to a report in Hindustan Times.

The Jharkhand state unit of BJP is said to have launched a four-day statewide protest on Monday against issues such as law and order problems and erratic power and water supply, as mentioned in the report.

The state leadership had first stayed away from Sinha's agitation but then decided to take up the issue with an eye on the impending Assembly polls in the state, reports suggested. In fact, Sinha'a name is also being circulated to lead the election campaign for the party in the state.