Despite Mayor’s nod,LMC stops Punia’s SC panel meet

In November,the Akhil Swaschhkar Mahasabha — an organisation of sanitation employees — had received permission from LMC to hold a meeting at Triloki Nath Hall.

On November 27,hundreds of representatives of the organisation reached the LMC headquarters in Lalbagh from various parts of the state. When the meeting was about to start in the afternoon,they were told that the permission to hold the meet has been canceled.

To mark their protest,the members held the meeting on the road in front the LMC headquarters. Punia also addressed the gathering.

An official at the state office of NCSC said: “The NCSC is a statuary body and LMC was aware that Punia had been invited as the chief guest in the meeting. Still they denied permission. This was a blatant act by the UP government. We had to face embarrassment because LMC cancelled the permission at the last moment.” Regarding the appeal to conduct a probe into the matter,the official said: “So far,we have not received any reply from the state government or the LMC.”

Lucknow Mayor Dr Dinesh Sharma,on whose recommendation the permission to hold the meeting was given,had sought a reply in this regard from LMC’s Samiti Vibag that allots the hall.

“According to the Samiti Vibag,the permission was cancelled because employees of the LMC’s street-light wing were already staging a dharna outside the LMC office and more people were expected to join the gathering the next day. The road infornt was also dug and law and order problem was apprehended,” said Sharma.

He added: “The Samiti Vibag had to inform me before cancelling the permission. I have warned LMC officials not to cancel any programme where a public representative or chairman of any such commission is visiting. It was a non-political prgramme and even I was invited.”