Amid tight security on JP Jayanti, Akhilesh Yadav reaches JPNIC, pays floral tributes to the statue and takes a pledge to follow the path of Total Revolution

Lucknow. Samajwadi Party national president and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav reached the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Gomti Nagar on Sunday on the birth anniversary of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan and paid floral tributes at his statue. According to reports, despite the police deployment this time, he was allowed to enter the premises. For the past several years, there has been a controversy regarding Akhilesh Yadav's visit to JPNIC on the birth anniversary.

What happened at the event

Akhilesh Yadav reached JPNIC at around 11 AM as per the scheduled time. He garlanded JP's statue with marigolds and offered rose petals to pay his tributes. On Saturday, the SP chief had announced his visit to pay floral tributes here on JP Jayanti. According to reports, following this, heavy police force was deployed outside the centre on Saturday night after putting up barricades.

Akhilesh on Total Revolution

Akhilesh Yadav said that Samajwadi people together take a pledge that they will work towards building the society and the country by following the path of 'Total Revolution' shown by Jayaprakash Narayan. He described JP's movement as relevant even today and said that it had shaken the government of that time. According to reports, during this, he also targeted the state government over the maintenance of JPNIC. The version of the government or the Lucknow Development Authority on these comments was not available at the time of writing this report.

Previous controversy regarding JPNIC

The construction of JPNIC began during the tenure of the previous Samajwadi Party government. There have been confrontations between the administration and the SP in the past as well regarding Akhilesh Yadav's visit here on JP Jayanti. In 2023, he was not allowed to enter the premises on the birth anniversary. Because of this, his programme was under special scrutiny this time. This was the 124th birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan.