Amidst escalation of the row over his refusal to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi postponed his UP visit starting Thursday.
On Wednesday night, the lucknow district administration had denied permission to his outfit for holding a meeting and road show in the state capital citing law and order issues.
Meanwhile, MIM state head Shaukat Ali charged said that the permission was denied under pressure from the ruling Samajwadi Party. He claimed that this was 16th consecutive time in the last three years that the MIM has been denied permission by authorities in Agra, Azamgarh, Allahabad and lucknow.
To protest the denial of permission, MIM cadres staged a demonstration at the GPO Park on Thursday. Ali said that new dates will be announced soon and Owaisi will visit the state after Holi. Earlier Ali had threatened to go ahead with the scheduled programme, irrespective of the permission and also said that the party cadres would ghearo the Vidhan Bhawan if refused permission.
“The SP government is scared of the growing popularity of Owaisi among the Muslims of UP. The Muslims of the state are now disillusioned with the lack ill directed SP leadership, which is neck deep in corruption and also failed to honour the promises made to the community during 2012 Assembly polls,” said Ali.
Owaisi is in the centre of a raging controversy over his stand against chanting ‘ Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. His stance has evoked protests across the country and also in UP.