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Ayodhya challenge: Now, Akhilesh Yadav fires ticket salvo at Yogi Adityanath
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav pays tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan at JPNIC in Lucknow, says present government does not respect freedom fighters
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Political sparring over the Ayodhya challenge continued on Sunday a day after chief minister Yogi Adityanath accepted Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav’s dare to file his nomination from Ayodhya for the upcoming assembly elections and invited the former CM to do the same.
Adityanath’s offer on Saturday prompted the SP chief to respond the same evening that this PDA Prahari was enough for the contest. On Sunday, Yadav claimed that the chief minister himself had to seek tickets from BJP leaders and questioned whether Adityanath was in a position to decide party tickets.
Yadav was speaking to the media after paying floral tributes to socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan at the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow on his birth anniversary.
Responding to recent remarks on the Ayodhya challenge, Yadav said, “Our wind will sweep away arrogant people.”
He urged the BJP to focus on its own electoral prospects instead of commenting on the SP’s ticket distribution.
“Those whose own tickets are not confirmed are talking about tickets. The chief minister should first get his own ticket confirmed,” Yadav said.
He also pointed to the Samajwadi Party’s decision to field its candidate from Ayodhya while questioning the BJP’s claims on the matter. The SP has already named Tej Narayan alias Pawan Pandey as its candidate for the Ayodhya assembly seat currently held by the BJP’s Ved Prakash Gupta.
Adityanath currently represents the Gorakhpur Urban assembly constituency.
“I invite you (Akhilesh Yadav) to file your nomination from Ayodhya. I will also try my luck there once. The fight should be face-to-face,” Adityanath had said in Balrampur on Saturday.
In a sharp attack on the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav said, “The present government does not respect freedom fighters. We built such a large memorial to Jayaprakash Narayan, but the government is trying to sell it.”
He said party workers Amar, Vineet and Abhishek risked their lives to garland Narayan’s statue at night despite heavy police deployment, describing their action as a reflection of the struggle JP himself led.
“Change is certain. This government has no more than 45 to 50 days left,” he asserted, without elaborating further on the timeline.
On the police action during a protest in Delhi, Yadav demanded the immediate release of those arrested and accused the Election Commission of working in favour of the BJP.
Referring to allegations of mistreatment of women during the Delhi protest, Yadav alleged that the personnel involved were from Uttar Pradesh, with some reportedly belonging to Ghaziabad.
“These people have learnt from Hitler. Hitler’s troops used to treat political workers in a similar manner,” he alleged.
Yadav further criticised the government over waterlogging in parts of Lucknow, including the riverfront, Faizullaganj and Plassio Mall.
BARRICADES AT JPNIC REMOVED
JPNIC became accessible again on Sunday morning after the administration removed barricades and a large police force deployed on Saturday evening ahead of Yadav’s visit to JPNIC on Jayaprakash Narayan’s birth anniversary.
In the morning, the barricades had vanished from the premises, and banners by Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) reading “maintenance and renovation work in progress” were hung on the JPNIC’s main gate.
On Saturday night, Yadav had attacked the state government over heavy barricading at the JPNIC.
The previous Akhilesh Yadav government built the JPNIC, but the project was incomplete.
In August, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved a proposal to hand over JPNIC to a private consortium, which placed the highest bid for a 30-year lease for its operation and maintenance.
