FIR lodged against Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow

9-12-2020

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday registered an FIR against former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. The Samajwadi Party president was booked after he was arrested along with 28 other party leaders under the Epidemic Act. On Monday, the UP Police had barred Yadav, who was spearheading a protest in Lucknow, to proceed towards Kannauj, around 125 km from the Uttar Pradesh capital, for a tractor rally as part of the 'Kisan Yatra'. SP workers then broke through a security cordon to sit on a dharna in a bid to oppose the new farm bills. "If the new farm laws are intended to help the farmers, then why are they on the warpath? Why is the government so adamant? If farmers don't want the new laws, the government should take these back," Yadav told the media at the protest venue. Thereafter, the SP president was detained for violating Section 144 of the CrPC. While being taken away by the police, Yadav said, "This is a dictatorial approach of the BJP. It has blatantly violated the Constitution. There is no coronavirus for the BJP, it is only for the opposition. The BJP can hold meetings and election campaigns anywhere, and for it, there will be no coronavirus threat. The government wants to kill democracy on the pretext of coronavirus.� After being detained for around five hours at the Eco Garden, Akhilesh Yadav was released. As soon as the news of Yadav's detention spread, Samajwadi Party workers clashed with the police personnel in various districts. Later, a case was filed at Gautam Palli police station against Yadav and other SP workers, said Lucknow Police Commissioner DK Thakur. The case was filed for disturbing the peace and under the Epidemic Diseases Act in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, after his detention, the SP MP wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging there was a �breach of privileges of an MP�. "I am a Lok Sabha MP and national president of the Samajwadi Party. Along with this, I have discharged the constitutional responsibility of an ex-chief minister. To extend support to farmers, my programme was to be held in Kannauj on December 7, and it was declared earlier," said Yadav. "On the directions of the Uttar Pradesh government, I was stopped from going to the programme. A heavy police force was deployed at my residence on the Vikramaditya Marg. The police took my vehicles in its custody. This undemocratic behaviour is a violation of my rights. This amounts to breach of privileges of an MP," he added.