After the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) denied Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav permission to visit the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) on Friday for the freedom fighter’s birth anniversary, party MLA Ravidas Malhotra stated that they would pay tribute by breaking through any barricades set up by the government.
Malhotra strongly criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government, asserting that they could not silence the party through suppression, injustice, and dictatorship. “JPNIC was established during the Samajwadi Party’s tenure. On Jai Prakash Narayan’s birth anniversary, we wanted to garland his statue to pay our respects, but the BJP government is preventing this. We will overcome the barricades erected by the BJP government. They cannot silence us with their oppressive tactics,” he declared.
JPNIC has been sealed, barricaded, and secured by police in anticipation of Akhilesh Yadav’s planned visit to honor Jayaprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary. Yadav visited JPNIC on Thursday evening after the LDA refused to grant him access, citing security concerns.
Upon his arrival, Yadav criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for blocking the entrance with tin sheets. “The government is trying to conceal something with this tin boundary. Why are they not allowing us to honor a great leader? This is not the first time this has happened. Every year, on Jayaprakash Narayan Jayanti, SP workers and leaders gather to pay their respects. What are they trying to hide? This site is not under construction; it will be sold,” he stated.
In a letter dated October 10, the LDA described JPNIC as a construction site with materials scattered haphazardly and the potential for insect infestations due to rain. “JPNIC is a construction site where materials are spread haphazardly, posing a risk of insect infestations from rain,” the letter noted.
The letter also mentioned Yadav’s Z-plus category security, claiming that it would not be safe for him to garland the statue or visit the site. “Due to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s Z-plus category security, it is neither safe nor appropriate for him to garland the statue and visit JPNIC,” it added.
Yadav further alleged that a wall had been erected to prevent him and others from paying tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary. He accused the BJP of harboring animosity toward freedom fighters. “This is the ostentatious Amritkal of freedom under BJP rule. They built a wall to stop people from paying their respects. The path they have closed symbolizes their narrow-mindedness,” Yadav wrote in a post on X.
He continued, “The BJP shows ill will toward every freedom fighter, like Jayaprakash Narayan, who contributed to our country’s freedom struggle. Their guilt, as those who did not participate in the freedom movement, prevents them from honoring revolutionaries even on their birth anniversaries. This is condemnable!”
