Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav had a showdown with the local administration and police over paying tributes to Jaiprakash Narayan in the Gomti Nagar area of the state capital Lucknow on Wednesday.
Despite being denied permission for security reasons, Akhilesh, along with several SP workers, scaled the gate of the Jaiprakash Narayan International Center (JPNIC) in Gomti Nagar and garlanded the statue of the hero of the 'total revolution' during former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's regime.
Party sources said SP had written a letter to the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) seeking permission to garland the statue installed in JPNIC premises on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan, but the authority denied the permission, citing cleanliness and security reasons.
SP made it a question of prestige, and Akhilesh, along with hundreds of supporters, reached JPNIC around 11:30 am, scaled the gate, and garlanded the statue of Jaiprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary.
Speaking on the occasion, the SP chief said it was not the first time SP people came to garland the statue in the JP Samajwad Museum. "I don't know what the government wanted to tell by erecting tin sheds and locking the main gate," he said. (UNI)
(Photo: X/Akhilesh Yadav)
