Uttar Pradesh's political circles heated up on October 11, 2025, after some SP youth workers breached the Yogi Adityanath government's security cover at the JPNIC in Lucknow to garland a statue of JP Narayan on his birth anniversary.
Tension in Lucknow as SP workers breach govt security to garland JP Narayan statue
Like the last few years, the administration barricaded the JP Centre anticipating a visit by Akhilesh Yadav and his supporters
A political battle has erupted between Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) over the garlanding ceremony at the JP Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow on the occasion of the 123rd birth anniversary of Loknayak (people’s leader) Jayaprakash Narayan (1902-79) on Saturday (October 11).
While the administration remained alert following rumours of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s visit to the venue on Saturday and tightened security around it much earlier, two young SP workers defied the arrangements to enter the building premises late in the previous night and garlanded the statue of the late leader. Akhilesh, meanwhile, went to his party’s office to pay tributes to JP Narayan instead of the JPNIC.
On Saturday, the administration tightened security and erected a dual-layer barricade around the building and made a heavy police deployment in anticipation of a visit by the former chief minister and a large number of SP supporters. The adjacent roads were also blocked.
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SP accuses govt of stopping them
The administration has currently shut the building for construction and repair work, but according to SP workers, the arrangements were made to prevent them from paying homage to the iconic leader who had coined the slogan “Total Revolution” and played a major role during the Emergency era in the 1970s.
However, the security blanket was breached by the Opposition party’s supporters, who broke through the police cordon and garlanded the statue in the dark of night. They also posted their photos and video messages on social media. Authorities thereafter bolstered the security.
Such a scenario in UP’s capital on JP Narayan’s birth anniversaries is not new. Two years ago, Akhilesh entered the JPNIC by jumping over the closed gate and paid their tributes to the leader after being denied entry. Tension was also witnessed last year as the government tried to stop the garlanding event due to repair work, which Akhilesh criticised.
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'Emotional attachments with JPNIC'
This time, Akhilesh chose not to go to the JP centre and accused the BJP government of trying to destroy it and hide its action. After paying tribute to JP at the SP office, he said, “I have political and emotional attachments with JPNIC. When its foundation stone was laid, Netaji (his father Mulayam Singh Yadav), George Fernandes and many senior SP leaders were present. Not only has this government ruined it, it is also trying to hide it from the people.”
Recalling JP Narayan’s contribution towards waking up the rulers of the day, Akhilesh said the SP would make the public aware to topple the current government.
Meanwhile, the UP government also justified its stand on the issue of closing the JPNIC temporarily. It also said that while JP Narayan had fought the Congress, Akhilesh has today joined hands with Rahul Gandhi of the same party. What is the point in talking about the late leader in such a situation, it asked.
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State minister Aseem Arun said, “The Samajwadi Party government's decision to build a five-star building in the name of Jayaprakash Narayan, who fought for the poor, is ridiculous. The extent of corruption was such that first a society was formed, and then it was given Rs 200 crore and Rs 867 crore, respectively. Yet the project remained unfinished. Now, an investigation is underway into this project.”
JPNIC controversy
The JPNIC in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar was a dream project of the former SP government led by Akhilesh (2012-17). The building included provisions for a helipad, museum, swimming pool, and many other facilities. A society was also formed for this purpose in the SP government. It is alleged that the project’s budget was initially set at Rs 200 crore, but later it increased to nearly Rs 800 crore.
After the BJP came to power in the state in 2017, the new government initiated an investigation into the matter. Subsequently, the society formed by the previous government was dissolved, and the building was given to the Lucknow Development Authority. It also features a statue of Jayaprakash Narayan.
(This article was first published in The Federal Desh)
