BJP vs SP fight spills to streets as Akhilesh Yadav drives massive protest in Lucknow
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and Leader of the Opposition in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, is leading a protest march in Lucknow to the State Assembly against the ruling BJP in the state.
The march against inflation started from the party office on Monday morning. Meanwhile, heavy security was deployed outside the party office even as police said the party did not have permission to hold the protest.
Here are the top developments in the story:
Akhilesh Yadav led a massive protest against the ruling BJP in the state about the increasing rise in prices and unemployment. The party’s protest came just as the monsoon session for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly started on Monday.
The Samajwadi Party held a meeting on Sunday, one day before the monsoon session. There, it was discussed that the party will hold a protest march to the state assembly led by party chief Akhilesh Yadav. The issues that the party is protesting against include unemployment, inflation, lack of electricity supply and incidents of crimes against women in the state.
Heavy security outside the party’s office ahead of the protest. Police said the party did not have permission to hold the protest. Joint Commissioner Of Police Piyush Mordia said, “They were assigned a designated route which wouldn’t have caused traffic congestion. They refused to take that. We’ve no option but to stop them here.” He added that there will not be a problem if the party members take the designated route.
During the protest, Akhilesh Yadav said the party will hold the assembly on the streets. He sat down on the streets with party MLAs and said the monsoon session will commence from the streets.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spoke on the protest and said the Samajwadi Party should have taken permission to hold the march. He added, “Following law and order is too much of an expectation from Samajwadi Party leaders.”
Deputy chief minister KP Maurya also criticised the protest and said it is not for the benefit of the people. “If they want to discuss this, they are free to do it in the assembly. Our government is ready for discussions. SP is jobless now, they’ve nothing to do. Such protests will only create problems for people,” he added.