Denied entry to JPNIC to pay tribute to JP, Akhilesh slams BJP govt

Lucknow: Stopped from visiting the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Gomtinagar, Lucknow, to pay tribute to the socialist ideologue on his birth anniversary, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, senior functionaries and hundreds of party workers garlanded a bust of the ‘Loknayak' (people's hero) that was temporarily placed on road outside Akhilesh's house on Friday.
This was followed by a showdown between the SP and the BJP govt.
On Thursday night, Akhilesh had announced that he would visit JPNIC to pay floral tribute to the socialist leader on his birth anniversary on Oct 11.
Reacting to the announcement, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), which is the custodian of JPNIC, installed steel plates at the entrance to deny entry to anyone on the premises.
Akhilesh visited the site late on Thursday night only to announce that he would return on Friday to pay tribute to the socialist icon.
On Friday morning, police laid a siege outside the residence of Akhilesh Yadav and sealed the road leading to his house with steel barricading. Contingents of police, PAC and Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF) were also deployed. Heavy security deployment was also made around JPNIC in Gomtinagar and roads leading to the building were sealed with steel barricading.
Hundreds of party workers gathered at the spot after which Akhilesh came out of his residence, flanked by leader of opposition Mata Prasad Pandey and party national secretary Rajendra Chaudhary, with other senior functionaries in tow.
By this time, a letter sent by LDA to Akhilesh Yadav started doing rounds on social media wherein the SP chief was "advised" not to visit JPNIC as there was a lot of construction material lying all over the place. The letter, dated Oct 10, said that due to rainy season, there was a possibility of wild creatures being present at the site and since Akhilesh Yadav has a Z category security cover, it would not be advisable for him to visit the venue.
A bust of Jayaprakash Narayan, kept at the SP headquarters, was brought to the site where workers had by then started a sit-in shouting slogans against the govt.
Akhilesh and other functionaries garlanded the bust kept on a mini truck.
In his address, Akhilesh slammed the BJP govt in UP for putting up barricades near his house to prevent ‘Samajwadis' from honouring "a hero of the freedom movement".
After Akhilesh's address, the party workers dispersed, much to the relief of the district administration officials.
This is not the first time that SP leadership has locked horns with the BJP govt over the issue of entry to JPNIC.
In 2023, Akhilesh had announced that he would visit JPNIC to pay tribute to JPNIC, the authorities got the gates locked. A defiant Akhilesh climbed the gates to garland the statue.
JPNIC was conceived in 2012 by SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and the then CM Akhilesh Yadav with the idea of setting up a multi-functional venue on the lines of India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.
The project, then estimated at Rs 850 crore, comprised a 11-floor structure with state-of-the-art auditoriums, a museum on socialist movement in India, lawn tennis and badminton courts and art galleries.
It was the only structure in Lucknow at that time to have a helipad. The project was stalled in 2017 after the SP govt was voted out and ever since it is "under construction".