Several opposition leaders on Tuesday, 12 February, condemned the Bharatiya Janata Party for detaining former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav at Lucknow airport and not allowing him to board a plane to Prayagraj. Yadav was scheduled to take part in an oath-taking ceremony of a student leader at Allahabad University.
Hitting out at the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, though he advises everyone on democracy, he is running a dictatorship himself.
Talking to reporters at the state secretariat, Banerjee said, the country has never witnessed such a dangerous situation before.
“The BJP is very well aware that it won’t return to power, that is why they have resorted to tricks like stopping opposition leaders from moving freely. Is this democracy, that we are not allowed to move freely?”Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister, West Bengal
Banerjee was at the airport on her way to Delhi, where she is scheduled to participate at the rally of non-BJP leaders convened by the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday.
“We all condemn the arrogant attitude of the so-called BJP leaders who didn't allow Akhilesh to address the students, Banerjee wrote on Twitter.
‘Example of BJP’s Dictatorial Attitude’
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal criticised the incident and said, “This is yet another example of BJP’s dictatorial attitude.
Taking a dig at BJP, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that the democracy is in danger and that this is yet another instance of BJP’s intolerance against its political opponents.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, slamming the BJP for the incident, called it anti-democratic and an example of total dictatorship of BJP government.
“Is the BJP government at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh so afraid of the BSP-SP alliance that it is resorting to anti-democratic methods in order to curb our political activities. This is very unfortunate and this undemocratic step will be fought at all levels,” she said.
Meanwhile, the SP's Odisha unit has threatened to oppose Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's proposed visit to the state next week.
Terming the Lucknow airport episode as illegal and undemocratic, Samajwadi Party Odisha unit President Rabi Behera claimed that the BJP is scared of the growing popularity of Akhilesh Yadav.
He said, the SP Odisha unit will meet on 15 February to discuss on further course of action.
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