Thaindian News

New Delhi/Lucknow, March 7 (IANS) Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav attended parliament in Delhi Monday and claimed that he and his son Akhilesh were put under house arrest in the Uttar Pradesh capital earlier in the day.

“There were dozens of policemen and they had barricaded my house (in Lucknow),” Mulayam Singh told IANS outside parliament after attending the Lok Sabha.

He claimed that the Mayawati government had put restrictions on his and his son’s movements to thwart their anti-government rally in the state that began Monday.

He claimed the restrictions were removed only after he faxed a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, mentioning that under such circumstances he would not be able to attend parliament.

“Besides the barricades that were put up in front of my residence, PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) was also deployed at my door to prevent me from moving outside,” the SP chief said.

SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary in Lucknow said the two leaders were disallowed to move at the “behest of the state government that wants to gag every voice against its misrule”.

However, Lucknow District Magistrate Anil Sagar denied they were put under house arrest.

“No one was put under house arrest. It’s true that heavy security arrangements were made, but the passage was not blocked completely,” Sagar said.

“I have no idea about the letter which the leader claims to have faxed to the Lok Sabha speaker,” he added.

Starting a three-day protest Monday, SP activists across the state took to the streets, demonstrating against the Bahujan Samaj Party government.

“During the three days we will protest against the misrule and corrupt practices of the Mayawati government. To suppress our agitation the government is making every effort, but we will continue our fight,” Chaudhary said.