Ahmedabad: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders Praveen Togadia and Acharya Dharmendra Maharaj were arrested when they began their "Padshahi Yatra" from Somnath temple, police said.

The yatra is banned by the Election Commission.

The two VHP leaders and their supporters began the yatra after performing puja at the temple and were arrested immediately.

Addressing the activists before their arrest, the VHP leaders flayed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh for their "anti-Hindu" attitude.

Soon after the leaders mounted the specially-decorated chariot, police arrested them provoking VHP activists to raise slogans against the administration and police.

Police immediately whisked them away in vehicles parked outside the temple. PTI