In a series of tweets in Hindi, the SP posted photographs and videos of police deployment and lashed out at the UP Government. (Source: Twitter/Samajwadi party)A high drama was witnessed outside the SP headquarters in Lucknow Wednesday when the police tried to stop a protest by party leaders and workers to what they said was to highlight the ‘poor’ law and order situation, unemployment, and other issues in Uttar Pradesh.
As part of the protest, SP MLAs wanted to stage a sit-in at the Uttar Pradesh Assembly after garlanding a photograph of former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh on its premises. SP’s national president Akhilesh Yadav had instructed all MLAs to reach the party headquarters in the morning from where they had decided to start a padayatra (foot march).
Sources, however, said the SP did not obtain permission to hold the protest.
Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order), Piyush Mordia, told reporters, “It has been conveyed to the party leaders that they could hold protest at Eco Garden.”
A large number of police and PAC personnel have been deployed outside the Samajwadi Party office and also at the residence of several sitting MLAs to stop them from moving towards Vidhan Sabha, which is around two kilometre away.
The Samajwadi Party claimed several senior party leaders, including sitting and former MLAs and MLCs, have been put under house arrest as they had planned to go to protest at the statue of Chaudhary Charan Singh in assembly.
The SP said MLA Ravidas Mehrotra and SP state president Naresh Uttam have been put under house arrest. Akhilesh Yadav and other senior leaders are still inside the party headquarters.
In a series of tweets in Hindi, the SP posted photographs and videos of police deployment and lashed out at the UP Government. “Yogi government is the killer of democracy! Samajwadi Party MLAs are going to protest peacefully in favour of issues of public interest in the Vidhan Sabha today. It is highly condemnable and shameful of the dictatorial government to lock the SP MLAs in their homes under police guard!” it said in one of the tweets.
महंगाई, बेरोजगारी,ध्वस्त कानून व्यवस्था,भर्तियों में धांधली,स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं में भ्रष्टचार,गरीब के घरों पर चल रहे बुलडोजर,किसानों की दुर्दशा के मुद्दों पर सरकार से जवाब मांगने आज विधानसभा जा रहे हैं सपा विधायक।
लेकिन पुलिस सपा विधायकों को घरों से निकलने नहीं दे रही। घोर निंदनीय! pic.twitter.com/Z737F0QEJa
— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) September 14, 2022
The Samajwadi Party had announced a sit-in demonstration ahead of the monsoon session of the UP Legislative Assembly, which will begin on September 19.