Written by: Express News Service
3 min readLucknowNov 28, 2010 06:46 AM IST
First published on: Nov 28, 2010 at 06:46 AM IST
The chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes,PL Punia,also a Congress MP,was on Saturday prevented from addressing a meeting of a Dalit organisation at the Triloki Nath hall of the Lucknow Nagar Nigam.
Earlier,the Nagar Nigam had given permission to hold the meeting at the hall to Akhil Bharatiya Swachhkar Mahasabha,an organisation of sanitation employees..
In protest,the meeting was held on the road in front of the Lucknow Nagar Nigam’s office.
“The Lucknow Nagar Nigam had earlier given the permission for the meeting to the organisation which is headed by Shyamlal Pujari,also a member of the UP Congress Committee. But today,after they cancelled the permission,we held the meeting outside the office of the Nagar Nigam,” said Punia.
He said it was a serious infringement of Dalits’ rights. “The Commission will take cognisance of the blatant act of the UP government in denying the permission for holding the meeting and will seek report from the government. If need be,it will also summon the government officials,” said Punia.
He said: “I am at my wits end to understand why the BSP government headed by Mayawati gets so panicky by my visit to Lucknow. Ahead of my visit to Lucknow in the first week of November,the hoardings put up by my supporters were removed by the Lucknow Nagar Nigam. Later,the government prevented my press conference at the VVIP guest house and I had to hold it at the Press Club. Now they have stooped to the level of preventing my meeting even at the public place.”
Additional Municipal Commissioner Rajeshwar Singh,who is also the spokesman for Municipal Commissioner of Lucknow Nagar Nigam SK Singh,said,“I have no information as to who gave the permission and and who cancelled it.”
Dinesh Sharma,the Mayor of Lucknow,said,“The permission for the programme to be attended by PL Punia was given on my recommendation. I will inquire as to under what circumstances the permission was cancelled at the last moment.”
About the meeting the Commission is to hold with the UP government,Punia said it will be in the third week of December.
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