LUCKNOW: Heavy security deployment was made outside the Samajwadi Party headquarters in Lucknow, the residence of SP National President Akhilesh Yadavand at Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre on Friday morning.
The JPNIC was a flagship project of the erstwhile SP govt. The project has been lying incomplete ever since SP was voted out of the govt in 2017.
After a high-voltage drama, Akhilesh Yadav on Friday morning slammed the BJP government in the state for putting up barricades near his house on Vikramaditya Marg to prevent ‘Samajwadis’ from visiting the site and garlanding Jayaprakash Narayan’s statue.
Yadav took to social media and shared video clips and pictures of the deployment of security personnel, including police and rapid action force, with barricades near his house here, a stone’s throw away from the Samajwadi Party headquarters.
In a post on X, Akhilesh wrote, “Whether it is the BJP people or their government, their every action is a symbol of negativity. To prevent the Samajwadi people from garlanding the statue of ‘Jai Prakash Narayan Ji’ on his birth anniversary like last time, barricades have been put up around our private residence to stop them.”
“Whether it is the BJP people or their government, their every action is a symbol of negativity. To prevent the Samajwadi people from garlanding the statue of JP Narayan Ji on his birth anniversary like last time, barricades have been put up around our private residence to stop them,” he posted on X in Hindi.
The SP chief accused the BJP of creating hurdles in the path of harmony, peace, reservation, farmers’ welfare, women’s safety, youth development, employment generation, and development of PDAs (pichhde, Dalit, alpsankhyak).
“The BJP has always been against freedom fighters and the freedom movement. They have learnt from the colonial powers and supported them secretly. Everyone is saying today that they don’t want the BJP,” Yadav said.
On Thursday, hours after Akhilesh Yadav announced that he would visit JPNIC to pay floral tributes to socialist leader Jai Prakash Narayan at his statue installed inside the building compound, steel sheets were put up by the authorities to restrict entry into the premises.
Akhilesh visited the site on Thursday night and expressed his displeasure over the administration’s attempt to stop him from paying tributes at Jai Prakash Narayan’s statue.
What is govt hiding at JPNIC, asks Akhilesh
Akhilesh had announced to visit JPNIC on Friday after which the administration erected steel sheets at the entrance to restrict access. Once Akhilesh came to know about it, he reached the spot and questioned the govt’s intentions.
“What does the govt want to hide by restricting entry. It seems that the govt wants to hide its plans to sell off the premises. Let us see how long they will stop us. JPNIC houses a museum of socialists which can help people understand socialism.”
Later, taking to X, Akhilesh said that restricting entry to JPNIC reflects BJP’s “closed mindset” and ill-will towards every freedom fighter like Jayaprakash Narayan.
“BJP members did not participate in the freedom struggle. It is this guilt which stops them from paying tribute to revolutionaries on birth anniversaries,” he said.
‘BJP acting like a dictator’
UP Congress chief Ajay Rai attacked the BJP-led UP government saying that they are acting like a “dictator.”
“The intentions of this government are not good. Similar things were done the last year as well. They demolished Sarva Sewa Sangh in Varanasi and destroyed a good place. Similarly, I think they are trying to demolish that (JPNIC) too and sell it off to a big businessman, and that is why they are doing this, ” Rai said.
“This government is acting like a dictator. Movement of people is being prohibited, garlanding of statues is being prohibited,” he added.
LDA informs Akhilesh visit ‘not advisable’
The Lucknow Development Authority has informed SP chief Akhilesh Yadav that his planned visit to the JP Narayan International Centre here on Friday is “not advisable” as it cited security concerns due to the ongoing construction work at the site.
In a letter referencing their correspondence dated October 8, the LDA noted that Yadav, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who is accorded Z-plus security, intended to pay homage to the statue located at the convention centre.
“It is to be informed that the Engineering Department, Lucknow Development Authority has provided a report regarding the updated status of the work site, in which the JP Narayan Convention Centre project is still under construction.
“The construction material is kept in an unplanned manner and due to the rainy season there is a possibility of the presence of unwanted living creatures. The site has not been found suitable for garlanding/visiting from the security point of view of Akhilesh Yadav, former chief minister, who has Z-Plus security,” the LDA said in its letter dated October 10.
