In a dramatic turn of events, Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav jumped off the boundary wall of the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow after he was denied permission to go inside the premises to offer floral tribute to the freedom fighter on his birth anniversary.
The JPNIC is a project that was started by former Chief Minister and Akhilesh’s father Mulayam Singh Yadav on a three-acre plot in Gomti Nagar. It was inaugurated by Akhilesh on October 11, 2016, when he was the CM.
Officials cited security reasons for not allowing Akhilesh into the centre. After the former CM was denied permission, he reached the building along with other SP leaders and workers, and later jumped off the JPNIC’s boundary wall and entered inside.
Chaos ensued when police tried to stop them, and also used mild force to disperse the crowd.
After offering floral tributes at the statue of Jayaprakash Narayan at JPNIC, Akhilesh told reporters that the police action was “unfortunate”.
“I am sad that they have deployed police here who are stopping me. Officers are not sure who they should ask. The people should know who is the one stopping me… I remember when the inauguration happened Netaji (Mulayam) had come here. A museum was built here for a socialist leader. The only one in the country. So people can be inspired by his life. People can be inspired on how to raise their voice in a democracy against the government,” he said.
The former CM added, “You are stifling the voice of the people. They are shutting down the museum for JP. Which failure of yours are you hiding? Not just the museum, but the building too. They don’t let people enter.”
He also added that people must fight against the ruling BJP government.
In 2017, after the BJP came to power, CM Adityanath’s office received a recommendation to order a “special audit” of the funds spent to build the centre along with two other projects that were directly overseen by Akhilesh.