Prime Minister Narendra Modi's brother Prahlad Modi staged a dharna at the Lucknow airport on Wednesday, alleging that police did not let his supporters reach there and took them into custody.
Police, however, have denied the charge.
According to Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport's Additional General Manager (Operations) Bhupendra Singh, Prahlad Modi arrived at Lucknow by an Indigo flight around 4 pm.
He sat on a dharna on the airport premises as he was unhappy over police stopping his supporters from reaching there, Singh said, adding that Prahlad Modi left after an hour and a half.
Prahlad Modi told reports at the airport that he had come to Uttar Pradesh to take part in some social programmes in Sultanpur, Jaunpur and Pratapgarh.
"After reaching here, I came to know that the workers who were coming to receive me were held by the Lucknow police and made to sit in a police station. Efforts are on to lodge cases against them," he claimed.
Prahlad Modi claimed some police officers told him that there is 'an order to this effect from the Prime Minister's Office'.
"I felt that it would not be right if my children (workers) are in jail and I am free. Either let them go or I am sitting on a strike at the airport.
"Some police officers reached here and said there is an order to this effect from the Prime Minister's Office and I demand to see the copy of the order," Modi said.
"Goondagardi will neither help the government here nor the Prime Minister's office," he added.
Prahlad Modi said if police did not give him the copy of the order, he would approach the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Sarojini Nagar police station SHO Mahendra Singh said he has no information about the Modi's supporters.
No one has been taken into custody in my area, Singh said, adding that some reports of this kind have, however, had come from Sultanpur district but he had no information about it.
When asked if he knew where Prahlad Modi went after leaving the airport, Singh said, "I have no such information and even if we had, it would have been kept secret."
Sultanpur SP Arvind Chaturvedi has also denied the charge.
However, a youth was arrested for allegedly collecting money in the name of the prime minister's brother in Sultanpur.
The Sultanpur police had received information from the Prime Minister's Office that one Jitendra Tiwari, also known as Jitu, was involved in forgery in the name of the PM's brother, SHO (City) Bhupendra Singh had said.
Acting on the input, Tiwari was arrested from near Vikas Bhavan on Monday, he had said, adding that the accused's car had a poster of a programme of the prime minister's brother in Madhavpur on February 4.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Sultanpur president R A Verma had said a youth had come to him but he did not entertain him.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's niece Sonal Modi has sought a ticket from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat to fight the upcoming civic body polls in Ahmedabad city.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday, Sonal Modi said she has sought the ticket, from Bodakdev ward of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, in her capacity as a BJP worker, not as a relative of the PM, and claimed she fulfills criteria for nomination.
Sonal Modi, a homemaker in her late 30s, is the daughter of PM Modi's brother Prahlad Modi, who owns a fair price shop in Ahmedabad and is also the president of the Gujarat Fair Price Shops Association.
The Gujarat BJP recently announced that relatives of party leaders and workers will not be considered for ticket allocation for the upcoming polls.
"I have sought ticket from reserved women seat in Bodakdev ward. I was active as a BJP worker in the past but took a break to raise my children.
"Now, since my children have grown up, I can dedicate more time for people. That is the reason I have decided to jump into electoral fray," Sonal Modi said.
She said she qualifies to get party nomination to contest the polls.
"Though the BJP has set some criteria, I believe I qualify for the ticket. I have sought the ticket in my capacity as a BJP worker, not as a relative of the PM.
"Even if I am not given the ticket, I will remain active in the party as a dedicated worker," she said.
Meanwhile, Prahlad Modi backed his daughter's decision to seek party nod to fight polls, saying all his family members are free to take their own decisions.
"This is not a case of nepotism. My family never used Narendra Modi's name for our own benefit. We all earn our own bread and butter. Even I run a ration shop.
"I have not visited Narendra Modi's bungalow after he became the PM, let alone my children," said Prahlad Modi.
Notably, BJP's state parliamentary board is still in the process of finalising candidates for local body elections in Gujarat.
On February 1, the BJP had said it will not give poll tickets to relatives of party leaders.
Also, the ruling party had said it will not consider BJP workers who are above the age of 60 and those who have finished three terms as councillors for ticket allocation.
Elections to six municipal corporations in Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, will take place on February 21, while voting in 81 municipalities, 31 district panchayats and 231 taluka panchayats will be held on February 28.
