Akhilesh Yadav, SP workers climb over locked gate to pay tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan

Janata Party founder Jayaprakash Narayan’s birth anniversary in Lucknow on Wednesday witnessed a confrontation between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the administration. The Local District Administration (LDA) had imposed entry restrictions for the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC), citing security reasons.

In response, SP supporters staged a protest outside the gates of the premises. Party chief Akhilesh Yadav went further, dodging police officers who attempted to stop him and climbed over the locked entrance. Several SP workers followed suit and entered the premises. After offering floral tributes to the statue of Jayaprakash Narayan, Akhilesh accused the Yogi Adityanath government of neglecting the JPNIC.

The SP chief made his intentions clear in a social media post earlier in the day. He criticised the government’s decision to place the premises under lock and key.

Akhilesh questioned whether security forces needed to be stationed at the JPNIC. He also questioned what the government wanted to “hide” and why it destroyed something that had cost millions to build. Calling for the government to be held accountable for the state of the monument, the SP leader also criticised it for “failing” to uphold the honour of freedom fighters.