Akhilesh Yadav has slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for blocking access to the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre with tin sheets.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state for putting up barricades near his house on Vikramaditya Marg to prevent ‘Samajwadis’ from visiting the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar area and garlanding the socialist leader on his birth anniversary. His party workers also held massive protests in the city amidst the presence of police force and barricades.
On the eve of JP Narayan’s birth anniversary, Akhilesh had late last night reached JPNIC and lambasted the Yogi Adityanath government for barring its main gate behind tin sheets apparently to prevent entry. Yadav is scheduled to visit the JPNIC on Friday.
Last year, too, Yadav had to climb over the gate of the JPNIC to garland the statue of JP Narayan that was installed on the premises by the Samajwadi Party government led by him.
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh | Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) has been sealed, barricaded and the police force has been deployed ahead of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s scheduled visit to JPNIC in Gomti Nagar, today, on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan. pic.twitter.com/DJfdHBIyBG— ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2024
Today morning, 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.
“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.
भाजपाई लोग हों या इनकी सरकार, इनका हर काम नकारात्मक का प्रतीक है। पिछली बार की तरह समाजवादी लोग कहीं ‘जय प्रकाश नारायण जी’ की जयंती पर उनकी मूर्ति पर माल्यार्पण करने न चले जाएं, इसीलिए उन्हें रोकने के लिए हमारे निजी आवास के आसपास बैरिकेडिंग कर दी गयी है।– भाजपा ने श्रद्धांजलि… pic.twitter.com/oqAO6g8Qu8
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) October 11, 2024
As the protests intensified, a Samajwadi Party worker tied himself up in chains and protested outside the residence of Akhilesh Yadav.
#WATCH | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: A Samajwadi Party worker ties himself up in chains and protests outside the residence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav.Akhilesh Yadav is scheduled to visit JPNIC in Gomti Nagar today, on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan. Police… pic.twitter.com/CvoZ72gWFX
— ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2024
Late on Thursday, talking to reporters, Yadav said, “This JPNIC, the museum of socialists, statue of Jai Prakash Narayan and there are things inside on how we can understand socialism. What is the government hiding by erecting these tin sheds? Is it possible that they are getting ready to sell it, or want to give it to someone?”
“The government wants to hide something by building this tin boundary. Why are they not letting us honour a great leader? This is not happening for the first time. Every year on Jai Prakash Narayan Jayanti, the workers and leader of the Samajwadi Party used to gather and pay their respects to him. Why does the government want to hide? This is not under construction, this will be sold,” he alleged.
#WATCH | UP: SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav says, “The government wants to hide something by building this tin boundary. Why are they not letting us honour a great leader? This is not happening for the first time. Every year on Jayaprakash Narayan Jayanti the workers and leader of SP… pic.twitter.com/tC8hp91Bv7— ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2024
SHIVPAL SINGH HITS OUT
Senior Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav also hit out at the state government over the issue.
“The BJP, intoxicated with power, wants to barricade democracy. The system of power can never prevail over the system of the people. Government, learn a lesson from the past! Dictatorship does not last long in a democracy,” he posted on X along with videos of security deployment.
सत्ता के मद में चूर भाजपा लोकतंत्र की बैरिकेडिंग करना चाहती है । सत्ता का तंत्र कभी लोक के तंत्र पर भारी नहीं हो सकता। अतीत से सबक लीजिए सरकार! लोकतंत्र में तानाशाही लंबी नहीं चलती।#सामाजवादी_झंडा_इतिहास_लिए_बलिदानों_काpic.twitter.com/WHfFJpr2YY— Shivpal Singh Yadav (@shivpalsinghyad) October 11, 2024
SAMAJWADI PARTY’s LETTER
The Samajwadi Party, on October 8, had informed the JPNIC authorities of Yadav’s visit to the Centre on the birth anniversary of Jai Prakash Narayan. The letter was also addressed to the Lucknow Police Commissioner and the District Magistrate (DM).
A video, widely shared on social media, also claimed that Yadav, upon reaching the building, asked a painter to write ‘Samajwadi Party Zindabad’ on the tin sheets, news agency PTI reported.
On being asked if he would come to the centre on October 11 (today) to pay his tributes to the Emergency crusader, Yadav told reporters, “We will decide the programme tomorrow. For how long they will keep it barred behind tin sheds.”
Later in a post on X, the SP chief derided the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s rule as an “ostentatious Amritkal of freedom” and termed the closure a symbol of the party’s “closed thinking.”
“BJP holds ill-will and animosity towards every freedom fighter like Jayaprakash Narayan ji, who participated in the freedom struggle of the country. It is the guilt inside the BJP, whose members did not participate in the freedom struggle of the country, which does not allow them to pay tribute to the revolutionaries even on their birth anniversaries. Condemnable!” Yadav wrote in an X post.
ये है भाजपा राज में आज़ादी का दिखावटी अमृतकालश्रद्धांजलि न दे पाए जनता इसलिए उठा दी गयी दीवारभाजपा ने जो रास्ता बंद किया है, वो उनकी बंद सोच का प्रतीक है।
भाजपा जय प्रकाश नारायण जी जैसे हर उस स्वतंत्रता सेनानी के लिए अपने मन में दुर्भावना और दुराव रखती है, जिसने भी देश की… pic.twitter.com/kYaHiX1B1n
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) October 10, 2024
Earlier in the day, the Samajwadi Party on social media shared a video showing some workers erecting tin sheets before the main gate of the JPNIC and condemned the action.
“The useless BJP government is constantly attacking democracy!” it said in a post on X.
The party termed the barring an instance of “dirty politics” of the BJP.
“This anti-people government has insulted great men by ruining development work like JPNIC built in Lucknow. Socialists will not bow down to these dictators!” it said.
LUCKNOW DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY ISSUES STATEMENT
In an official letter, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) stated, “JPNIC is a construction site where construction material is spread haphazardly and there is a possibility of many insects due to rain. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has Z plus category security, due to which it is not safe and appropriate for him to garland the statue and visit JPNIC due to security reasons.”
On Friday morning, the road outside Akhilesh Yadav’s residence in Lucknow was barricaded and a heavy police force was deployed, as the Samajwadi Party chief was scheduled to visit JPNIC today on the birth anniversary of Jai Prakash Narayan.
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Visuals of barricading and police force deployed outside Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav’s residence, in Lucknow.Akhilesh Yadav is scheduled to visit JPNIC in Gomti Nagar today on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan. pic.twitter.com/wzVd4zHwyn
— ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2024
Meanwhile, the Lucknow Police announced traffic restrictions around the building for Friday.
BJP REACTS
In Delhi, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari reacted to the incident and said, “Akhilesh Yadav is doing politics. The notice that has been issued makes it very clear that the construction is incomplete. Had Akhilesh Yadav had good intentions, he could have paid tribute to Jai Prakash Narayan even in his office.”
“Today, the Samajwadi Party has forgotten the ideals of Jai Prakash Narayan. Had they followed those ideals, they would not have allied with the Congress party. After the defeat in Haryana, the entire INDI Alliance is resorting to a political stunt. They understood that the people of the country wanted the ideals of Jai Prakash Narayan to be taken forward by PM Narendra Modi,” Bhandari said.
JPNIC LUCKNOW
The JPNIC was inaugurated by Yadav in 2016 during his tenure as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Work on the building, however, was stopped after BJP came to power in the state in 2017.
The building, among other structures, houses the Jai Prakash Narayan Interpretation Centre, a museum.
