Lucknow: Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) has been sealed off and barricaded, with police deployed ahead of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav’s planned visit on Friday, which marks the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan. Yadav had attempted to visit the site on Thursday evening after the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) denied him permission for the visit due to security concerns.
Upon his arrival at JPNIC, Yadav criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for obstructing access with tin sheets. He questioned the government’s motives, asking why they were preventing a tribute to a significant leader. “This isn’t the first time this has happened. Every year, SP workers and leaders gather to honor him. Why is the government trying to conceal something? This site isn’t under construction; it’s likely to be sold,” he remarked.
In a letter dated October 10, the LDA described JPNIC as a construction site with scattered materials and potential insect issues due to rain. They stated that Yadav’s Z-plus category security made it unsafe for him to garland the statue and visit the site, citing security concerns.
Yadav further claimed that a wall had been erected to prevent him and others from paying their respects to Jayaprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary. He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of harboring resentment toward every freedom fighter. “This is the ostentatious Amritkal of freedom under BJP rule. A wall was built to obstruct tributes. The path the BJP has closed reflects their narrow-mindedness,” he posted on X in Hindi.
He added, “The BJP has ill will toward every freedom fighter like Jayaprakash Narayan, who contributed to our country’s independence. Their guilt, stemming from not participating in the freedom struggle, prevents them from honoring revolutionaries on their birth anniversaries. This is condemnable!”
Earlier, the Samajwadi Party shared a video on X showing workers erecting tin sheets at the entrance of JPNIC. They criticized the BJP government for what they termed an attack on democracy, stating, “The BJP’s attempt to re-lock JPNIC, named after Loknayak Jai Prakash Narayan, on his birth anniversary is highly condemnable. Preventing the garlanding of Jayaprakash Narayan Ji’s statue reveals the dirty politics of the BJP. This anti-people government has disrespected great individuals by neglecting development projects like JPNIC in Lucknow. Socialists will not submit to these dictators!”
Jayaprakash Narayan is remembered for forming the first non-Congress government in India by uniting the opposition against the Congress during the Emergency and for leading a coalition of opposition parties in the mid-1970s against then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, advocating for ‘Sampoorna Kranti’ (total revolution).