Yogi Adityanath barred from entering Allahabad

Controversial Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yogi Adityanath was on Friday barred from entering Allahabad where he was invited to a function by Allahabad University Students' Union, with authorities claiming that the necessary permission had not been taken for the event.

The firebrand BJP Lok Sabha member from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, was stopped at Vindhyachal in Mirzapur neighbouring Allahabad when he was on way to attend the programme. Invitation to the leader was opposed by certain student outfits and stoked a controversy.

Mirzapur's senior superintendent of police Arvind Sen said that the district administration had received a communication from the Allahabad district magistrate to stop Adityanath from reaching the city as prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure were in force.

The SSP said if the BJP MP tried to proceed further, he would be arrested.

Allahabad DM Sanjay Kumar and SSP K S Immanuel said Aditynath has been 'advised' against entering the district and may face 'legal action' if he does not comply. They said the students' union has not taken a permission for the event and the university has been asked not to allow it.

"The union did not obtain necessary permission from the administration before organising its programme,” they said at a press conference on Thursday night.

"However, we have taken note of the developments and directed the university authorities and the union leaders to refrain from holding any unauthorised event. Moreover, the honourable member of Parliament (Adityanath) has also been informed about the district administration’s decision," the officials said.

They said that adequate security arrangements have been made along the borders of the district as a preventive measure.

Meanwhile, students' union president Richa Singh, who has been opposed to the visit of the BJP MP, began a hunger strike on Thursday night demanding the varsity to cancel the programme. She is miffed at her name being printed alongside those of other office-bearers on posters put up by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the BJP's student wing.

Singh, who became the first woman to be elected to the president’s post after Independence earlier this year, had fought the elections as an independent candidate and emerged victorious owing to the support she received from Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha, which decided to back her after its official candidate’s nomination papers were rejected during scrutiny.

Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha is the students' wing of Samajwadi Party, which is in power in Uttar Pradesh.

The invitation extended to the Gorakhpur MP by the ABVP -- which had bagged all the important posts in the elections except that of the president -- has been questioned by various student outfits.

University authorities have suspended classes for the day in view of the prevailing situation on the campus.