UP: Akhilesh Yadav demands immediate release of arrested students, youths in Delhi

Lucknow, Oct 11 (UNI) Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav today demanded the release of students and youth arrested in Delhi for protesting as well as the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He urged the government to release the arrested students and youth, saying that a government that fears its own end resorts to injustice.

Akhilesh Yadav, while talking to media after paying tribute of Jayaprakash Narayan, said, "Who doesn't know that the Election Commission is working to ensure the BJP's victory? The EC's job is to ensure that as many people as possible cast their votes, but the Commission is cutting those votes. This is the first time we're seeing people being prevented from voting. Their names are being deleted.The public is going to defeat them in 2027. Change has begun, and only 40 days are left."

The SP president also raised the issue of alleged violence against people from Uttar Pradesh in Delhi. He commented on the current situation, citing Hitler's rule, and demanded the CEC's resignation. He reminded that Form 7s were filled by forging the signatures of those who did not know how to sign, and people's votes were cancelled. The rule states that a person cannot fill more than five Form 7s, but votes were cancelled by making them fill more than 100 forms. In the by-election, people saw that policemen were dressed in plain clothes and were made to cast fake votes. We also saw such pictures in the by-election in which an officer was seen with a revolver threatening women not to vote.

Earlier, SP President Akhilesh Yadav visited the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Gomtinagar to celebrate the birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan. He paid tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan by garlanding his statue. During the visit, he criticized the state government for the state of the JPNIC, claiming that the centre had been sold for the sake of money. He also questioned the role of the BJP and the Election Commission, claiming a change of power in the 2027 state assembly elections. Before Akhilesh Yadav's arrival, the main gate of JPNIC was covered with tin sheets. Barricades were erected around the premises, and PAC personnel were deployed alongside the police. He questioned the condition of the centre and asked how much it had been sold for. Recalling the contributions of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, he said that JP always stood up for the rights of the oppressed.

Akhilesh said that the more suffering the public experiences, the faster change will come. Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the 2027 assembly elections will bring about change in the state, and that it has already begun.

Responding to rumours that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will contest from Ayodhya, he said, "Everyone will be swept away by Pawan's (Pawan Pandey) wind. Arrogant people won't be spared. Ask the BJP people, does the CM distribute tickets? He has to stand in line himself. He always asks for tickets for himself. He even stands in line to ask for tickets for his own people." Regarding the problem of waterlogging in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav mentioned the Riverfront and Palasio area.

He said that while he had previously praised the Riverfront, it is now facing waterlogging. There is a lack of coordination between the Municipal Corporation, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), and the Irrigation Department. It was the first time the SP chief had been able to offer a wreath there in three years. Previously, Akhilesh had garlanded the statue of Jayaprakash Narayan at JPNIC in 2023. He then climbed over an 8-foot-high gate to enter the centre. In 2024 and 2025, the administration did not allow him inside JPNIC.

UNI MBD SS