SP workers protest in Kanpur, Etawah

Kanpur: Samajwadi Party (SP) workers, agitated over state government’s denial of permission to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to visit Allahabad university, gathered in large numbers at Shikshak Park in Parade area of the city and took out a mock funeral procession of the state government in protest on Tuesday.
The protesters later burnt the effigy of the state government and raised slogans and also entered into scuffle with the police, when the latter tried to disperse them.
SP leaders Moin Khan and Sarfaraz said, “CM Yogi Adityanath is behaving like a dictator. The present regime is trying to kill democracy and stop our national president from visiting Allahabad.”
Protests against the state government meanwhile also took place at Etawah, the native district of the SP chief.
Protesters, including members of Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha (SYS), assembled Shastri Chauraha in hundreds and raised slogans against the state government.
“We have come out on the streets to express our solidarity with our party chief. If the CM won’t understand our democratic way of protest, we will be forced to adopt other means,” said district president of SP Gopal Yadav.
Mainpuri MP Tej Pratap Singh Yadav, said, “This is death of democracy. The BJP government is scared of BSP-SP alliance and that is why it is resorting to cheap anti-democratic methods to curb political activities of our party president.”