Lucknow: AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi has again been denied permission to hold a rally in Lucknow. This is the sixth time that Mr Owaisi has been denied permission to hold a rally in Uttar Pradesh in the past one year.
Mr Owaisi was scheduled to address a rally in Lucknow on Thursday but hours before the event, he was denied permission. A district official said that permission for the rally had been denied on the grounds that it could disrupt communal harmony.
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“Holi is round the corner and we need all our resources to ensure that the festival passes off peacefully. We cannot allow a rally that can disturb the atmosphere”, the official said. The AIMIM leader is in the midst of a controversy for his refusal to say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’.
In the past one, Mr Owaisi has been denied permissions to hold rallies in western UP. However, he was allowed to hold two rallies in Faizabad earlier this year where the AIMIM was contesting a by-election.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena took on the AIMIM leader for his refusal to chant “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and sought revocation of citizenship and voting rights of those who refuse to chant the slogan.
