Indian police deny permission to opposition parties for protest rally

The Indian police Tuesday denied permission to opposition parties for a protest rally against the government's land acquisition bill, said police.

Cops have placed water cannons and barricades at the main thoroughfare, Vijay Chowk, to prevent the march, said witnesses.

Eight parties were to march to the presidential palace, Rashtrapati Bhawan, from Parliament House premises Tuesday afternoon to hand over a joint memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee, identifying their points of disagreement with the government on the bill, said local media.

The opposition parties were expecting Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to join the protest rally against the land bill, which was passed at the Bharatiya Janata Party dominated lower house of Parliament last week despite stiff resistance of the oppositions.

The land bill was supposed to give the government easier access to land acquisitions by removing some key clauses of the former law on land acquisition.

The Congress supporters Monday protested against the bill in central Delhi, during which they clashed with police who used water cannon to dispel the protesters. Endi