'Symbol Of Negativity': Row In Uttar Pradesh After Akhilesh Yadav 'Stopped' From Paying Tribute To Jayaprakash Narayan

SP leader Akhilesh Yadav expressed concern over barricades around JPNIC to prevent Samajwadi Party members from garlanding Jayaprakash Narayan's statue on his birth anniversary.

Image: X/ @yadavakhilesh

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of erecting tin sheets before the main gate of Lucknow's Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) to obstruct his entry. He criticized the BJP, stating that "every action of the BJP and its government is a symbol of negativity." Yadav alleged that the BJP government is trying to stop him from paying tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan.

Huge number of protestors gathered at Akhilesh Yadav's residence as police barricades and heavy security were put in place. Yadav alleged that the BJP government is trying to hide something by erecting tin shades. He alleged that the JPNIC is not under construction as being claimed by the state government.

In a letter dated October 10, the LDA mentioned that JPNIC is a construction site with haphazardly spread materials and potential insect infestations due to rain. "JPNIC is a construction site where construction material is spread haphazardly, and there is a possibility of many insects due to rain," the LDA said.

Yadav expressed concern that barricades were set up around JPNIC to prevent Samajwadi Party members from garlanding the statue of Jai Prakash Narayan on his birth anniversary.

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

Yadav shared a video on X and said, "Preventing someone from bowing or paying homage is not a sign of civilized people."

किसी को नमन करने या श्रद्धांजलि देने से रोकना सुसभ्य लोगों की निशानी नहीं। pic.twitter.com/4Co28qyahN — Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) October 10, 2024

Yadav visited the JPNIC with party workers on Thursday night to commemorate the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan, which is celebrated on October 11.

"BJP holds ill-will and animosity towards every freedom fighter like Jai Prakash Narayan ji who took part in the freedom struggle of the country. It is the guilt within the BJP colleagues who did not take part in the freedom struggle of the country that does not allow them to pay tribute to the revolutionaries even on their birth anniversaries," the post read.

ये है भाजपा राज में आज़ादी का दिखावटी अमृतकाल
श्रद्धांजलि न दे पाए जनता इसलिए उठा दी गयी दीवार

भाजपा 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

Narayan formed the first non-Congress government in the country by uniting the entire Opposition against the Congress party during the Emergency. He is remembered for leading a rainbow coalition of Opposition parties in the mid-1970s against then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, calling for 'Sampoorna Kranti' (total revolution).