Akhilesh Yadav stopped at Lucknow airport, SP leaders stage protest

Lucknow : Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has been stopped from boarding a flight to Prayagraj at the Lucknow airport, said reports. The SP leaders have now staged a protest against the act by state government.

Security at the airport has been beefed up after reports suggested that more MLAs are likely to join the protest.

Akhilesh Yadav was scheduled to fly to Prayagraj to attend a student union function at the Allahabad University. Criticising the state government, he posted his disappointment on the Twitter.

“The state government is so scared of me going to the swearing-in ceremony of a student leader that I am being stopped at the Lucknow airport.”

He tweeted, “I was prevented from boarding the airplane without any written orders. Currently detained at Lucknow airport. It is clear how frightened the govt is by the oath ceremony of a student leader. The BJP knows that youth of our great country will not tolerate this injustice anymore!”

In his government’s defence, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “The SP should refrain from its anarchist activities. Allahabad University requested that Akhilesh Yadav’s visit may create a law and order problem because of the dispute between student organisations. Hence, the government took this step.”

Later, it emerged that the university had written to the SP chief, explaining why he could not attend the event. The University Registrar wrote that politicians were not allowed in its varsity programmes.