JPNIC gates ‘barricaded’ after Akhilesh announces to pay tribute to ideologue

LUCKNOW The gates of Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) were ‘barricaded’ late on Thursday evening following an announcement by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav that he will be going there to pay tribute to party ideologue Jai Prakash Narayan on his birth anniversary on Friday (October 11).

As per the visuals from the JPNIC, huge pieces of tin sheets were put up at the gates, making it impossible to cross over. LDA officials refused to comment on the issue. DCP (central) Raveena Tyagi said, “This action is not by Lucknow police.”

Akhilesh Yadav, who reached the JPNIC late on Thursday night, said: “The government wants to hide something by putting up tin sheets…why do they want to stop us from paying tribute to a great personality? This is not happening for the first time…every year, SP people used to gather here and pay homage. Is the government planning to sell the JPNIC? If they are unable to run it, they better sell it off. They can’t stop an ideology by putting up tin sheets. I will see in the morning what has to be done.”

Last year, following a scuffle with security personnel and police officials, Yadav had jumped over the gates after he was denied permission to garland the statue of JP Narayan on his birth anniversary. The SP chief had to jump over the gate as the LDA officials had put up a lock at the gates ahead of the former’s arrival.

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“Stopping someone from paying tributes is not a sign of civilised people,” Yadav tweeted on Thursday with a picture of the barricading of JPNIC gates. The SP chief had sought permission from the district administration for paying tribute to the party ideologue at JPNIC, but so far hadn’t got any response in this regard, the party stated in a release.

SP spokesperson Ameeque Jamei said, “Akhilesh Yadav and SP workers will pay tributes to Jai Prakash Narayanji at any cost. The government doesn’t want people to see how the state government has ruined India’s biggest cultural centre. A jungle has grown inside the JPNIC, a building is getting wasted. The government is neither using the building nor taking care of it.”