Lucknow: It is time for tit for tat politics. UP chief minister, clearly miffed with the West Bengal government for not permitting his chopper to land in Purullia – a similar permission was denied to Amit Shah, too, at Malda — has decided to hit back at the ‘maha gathbandhan’.
The Opposition leader in the line of fire on Tuesday was none other than Akhilesh Yadav, who was stopped from boarding a flight at Lucknow airport for Prayagraj, where he was supposed to participate in an innocuous function in Allahabad University.
There was high drama at the airport when the Samajwadi Party leader was forced to abort his trip. In a series of tweets, Yadav summed up his mood: “I was stopped at the airport without a written order. When asked, the officials failed to clarify matters. The only objective of preventing (me) from attending a campus programme is to stifle the Samajwadi thought and voice among the students.”
Yadav also posted several photographs showing an official standing at the stairs of the aircraft, apparently blocking his path. In another photograph, he was seen surrounded by several people, including policemen. According to eye-witnesses, several officials and policemen were present when Yadav reached the airport. Yadav was cordoned off as soon as he stepped out of the car.
He shouted at them, trying to ward them off. Unable to breach the security, he loitered at the airport for some time and then returned to his residence. Within an hour, protests erupted in Lucknow and elsewhere in the state. SP workers took to the streets in Prayagraj, Jaunpur, Jhansi, Balrampur, Jalaun, Azamgarh and Gorakhpur.
As is customary, the protestors disrupted the traffic and damaged vehicles. They also clashed with the police when the latter tried restraining them; and many were injured when the police lathi-charged them in Prayagraj. However, CM Adityanath claimed that Yadav was stopped from visiting Prayagraj as his visit could have triggered unrest in the city, where Kumbh Mela is on.
“Akhilesh’s visit could have created chaos. Therefore, it was cancelled. The party is known for creating ruckus,” he told newspersons in Lucknow, adding that Akhilesh Yadav had visited Kumbh about ten days ago and taken a bath at Sangam. In December last year, a Samajwadi Party backed candidate was elected as president of the students union and his oath-taking ceremony was slated for Tuesday.
Akhilesh later told media persons that he had informed the Yogi government in December itself about his visit to Allahabad University. “A detailed programme was sent on February 2, so that the administration could make necessary arrangements in the view of the Kumbh,” Yadav added. “But this government believes in ”roko, thoko neeti”.
This government is scared of students,” he said. Allahabad University campus is prone to clashes between rival student groups. A spokesman of the State’s Home Department said the Allahabad University administration had not given permission for any hosting any political programme on the campus.
Incidentally, in 2015, when Akhilesh was the chief minister, Adityanath, then BJP MP from Gorakhpur, could not visit the Allahabad University for a student’s union programme. BSP chief Mayawati said in a tweet: “Is the BJP government so scared of the SP-BSP alliance that athey’ve started banning political events? They seem to be using Kumbh for furthering their political agenda. Not allowing Akhilesh Yadav to go to Prayagraj proves that.”