Gkp BJP-SP clash: LoP vows to raise security breach issue in UP House

BJP workers blocked the route near Normal School Crossing and shouted slogans demanding SP leaders return

Tensions flared in Gorakhpur on Wednesday, when BJP workers allegedly attacked a convoy of vehicles of Samajwadi Party leaders and clashed with SP supporters. BJP workers blocked the route near Normal School Crossing and shouted slogans demanding SP leaders return. Reports claim that the windscreens of five vehicles in the SP convoy were smashed during the altercation.

BJP workers on a JCB block the route of an SP delegation in Gorakhpur on Wednesday (HT Photo)

Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, Mata Prasad Pandey and including senior leaders Lal Bihari Yadav and Vinay Shankar Tiwari, had gone to meet local traders who alleged harassment by government authorities in connection with road-widening for the Virasat Corridor project.

Pandey said that he will raise the issue of a serious security lapse during his visit to Gorakhpur in the upcoming assembly session.

“The police remained mute spectators, and officials stood aside during the incident,” Pandey said. Expressing anger, he said that even the police personnel assigned for his protection appeared helpless, indicating a major breach in security.

“This issue will now be raised in assembly. This is nothing short of dictatorship by the ruling party. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath must answer for this,” he said.

The SP delegation continued their visit and met with several traders before proceeding to Tiwari Hata via an alternate route.

Calling the Virasat Corridor project a “suicidal move” for the BJP, the SP leader in the Legislative Council, Lal Bihari Yadav, blamed the administration for disregarding a high court stay order on the matter.

Yadav further accused a BJP MLA and the mayor of orchestrating the protest at Normal Chauraha, claiming that the attack on Pandey’s convoy was carried out at their instigation. “Such incidents are unacceptable in a democracy,” he said.

Meanwhile, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav took to X to condemn the attack on the senior SP leader in Gorakhpur.

ABDUR RAHMAN