Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday climbed the locked gate of Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Gomti Nagar to garland a statue of the socialist leader on his birth anniversary.
In a video shared by Samajwadi Party's X handle, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister's supporters are seen going behind him as he climbed the gates of the JPNIC and entered the premises.
"The Samajwadi people will continue to fight against the dictatorship of the BJP government. Honourable national president Akhilesh Yadav garlanded the statue of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan at the JPNIC," the SP posted in Hindi.
In another video, Yadav is seen showering the statue of Jayaprakash Narayan with rose petals.
Hitting back, the BJP said if the SP leader is so good at climbing, he should have participated in the recently concluded Asian Games and brought some more medals for the country.
Yadav told the media that he was saddened by efforts to stop them from entering the centre by deploying police.
He said the officers were not ready to allow them to enter the premises and that the SP workers and leaders were clueless as to whom they should seek permission from.
Yadav said the public should know who is stopping the SP workers from paying tributes to Narayan, fondly called JP. He said the Samajwadi people used to garland his statue every year on his birth anniversary but this time they were compelled to climb the gate of the JPNIC.
He recalled that 'Netaji' (Mualayam Singh Yadav) was there during the inauguration of the centre. The JPNIC was inaugurated by Akhilesh Yadav on this day in 2016 during his tenure as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
The centre houses the Jayaprakash Narayan Interpretation Centre (museum).
Akhilesh Yadav said it is the only museum in the country dedicated to the socialist leader from where people could get encouragement to raise their voice against the government in a democracy.
He alleged that there are attempts to suppress the voice of the Samajwadis and future generations who want to do something for the country. "This is the same museum that tells about his life. It is being closed," he said, wondering what are the "failures" the government is hiding by closing the museum.
Earlier in the Day, Akhilesh Yadav wrote on X, "On the birth anniversary of the great socialist thinker and strong spokesperson of social justice, Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan ji, is the path of JPNIC being blocked by putting up these tin sheets to stop the SP from laying a wreath?"
"The truth is that the BJP is afraid of a repeat of the movement launched by Loknayak Jayaprakash ji against corruption, unemployment and inflation. Because during the BJP rule, corruption, unemployment and inflation are many times more," he alleged.
He asked if even for garlanding, they needed to start a "Total Revolution" like the one led by Narayan. He said they will have to resort to it if the BJP wants so.
The Total Revolution Movement was started in 1975 by Narayan, the hero of the anti-Emergency movement.
Targeting Akhilesh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said the SP president's behaviour proved that his party likes "anarchy and hooliganism" and has nothing to do with the law.
"The Samajwadi Party likes anarchy and hooliganism. This is proved by the behaviour of SP national president and the way in which he garlanded the statue after climbing and jumping into the premises which was sealed by the LDA (Lucknow Development Authority)," Pathak said here in a statement.
"He (Akhilesh Yadav) has nothing to do with law. He also does not adhere to law and always breaks it. Spreading anarchy is the history of the SP. If he is so good at climbing, he should have gone to the Asian Games and brought some more medals for India," Pathak said.
The SP president also shared a video showing metal sheets erected on the sides of the gate of the JPNIC.
Senior police officials of Lucknow Police Commissionerate could not be reached for a comment on the matter.