The Coin Yatra, undertaken by over 350 Dalits with two truckloads of ₹1 coin to the value of ₹20 lakh and a 1,000 kg brass coin with the faces of Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Gautam Buddha emblazoned on either side, was stopped on its tracks at the Rajasthan-Haryana border near Shahjahanpur by the police on Sunday night.
The activists were shown a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs, specifically stating that the Coin Yatra not be allowed to proceed, said Dalit activist Martin Macwan, who helped organise the Yatra.
The Yatra had the objective of donating the money towards the construction of the new Parliament complex; activists also wanted to ask the government if it will be able to eradicate the menace of untouchability by the time India arrives at the 100th year of its Independence.
