Latest news with #JPNIC
Hindustan Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
JPNIC row: Ideologically attached to project...willing to take it, says Akhilesh
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party was ready to take Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC), located in the state capital, if the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanted to sell it. The project, which houses state-of-the-art amenities, was built during the SP regime in the state. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav (File) 'We, Samajwadis, are ready to take JPNIC if the government wants to sell it. We're ready to pay the price that any businessman will pay for it. Not just emotionally, but we're also ideologically attached to JPNIC. It houses state-of-the-art facilities: the museum built in the memory of Jai Prakash ji is one of its kind in the entire country. We will accept donations, pool money but will surely like to take the project if the government wants to sell it,' the former chief minister told reporters at the party headquarters here on Tuesday. 'Kisan Bazar [also in Lucknow], which was built for farmers, is now known for cafes. The hotel on the premises was sold to a businessman. The BJP government is not creating any assets but only selling the ones that were created by previous governments,' added Yadav. Speaking about the action against SP member Gulshan Yadav, from Pratapgarh, who had contested elections against Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya in 2022 assembly elections, the SP chief said: 'False cases are being registered against him. The ones behind this will lose elections for sure. Though, this is not the right time, but I would like to say that the action taken by the BSP government against such people...I should not have changed it at all.' On the issue of defence manufacturing in Jhansi and Bundelkhand region, Yadav attacked the BJP government and stated, 'Not even a cracker has been manufactured in that region and they spoke about manufacturing defence equipment. Had the manufacturing started on time, then today we would not have been buying defence equipment from other countries.' The SP chief also alleged that the 'wrong' name of a criminal killed in a police encounter in Agra was propagated just to defame a certain caste. 'It was only after our objection that news channels, which were running the wrong name, apologized for their mistake,' said Yadav. The SP chief, earlier, held a meeting with SP Mazdoor Sabha. 'Our Mazdoor Sabha people have pledged today to defeat BJP in 2027 assembly polls. The government is exploiting labourers more than our farmers. The government is unable to address the issues of our labourers,' stated the SP Chief. Reacting to the allegations, state minister for labour and employment, Anil Rajbhar said, 'SP leaders are misguiding 2004 and 2007, it was kind of a famine which our labourers had to face during the SP regime. Now the same SP is talking about labourers. Today, in UP we have a government which is sensitive towards the issue of labourers. Our government will ensure that the son of a labourer will become a doctor, engineer and officer. Today we are running 10 schemes for the labourers in the state.'
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Women will unmask BJP's ‘Nari Shakti' hypocrisy: SP
1 2 Lucknow: Pointing fingers at the BJP for trolling of the wife of navy officer killed in Pahalgam terror attack over her appeal for peace, wielding threat to a 'courageous woman' for raising voice for brotherhood amid vandalism in Nainital and use of highly objectionable language for women folk singers exposing BJP, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said that it was only the women folk who will expose the BJP's hypocrisy over its 'Nari Shakti Vandan' Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was the title that Modi govt had given to the Act tabled in 2023 that sought to reserve one-third of the total seats in Lok Sabha and the state assemblies for reaction came a day after the National Commission for Women (NCW) took note of the troll storm against Himanshi Narwal , wife of Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack. Himanshi had appealed to the people not to be hostile towards Muslims or Kashmiris, for which she was trolled heavily. The commission said it was condemnable and unfortunate that she was being targeted for her opinion."The NCW should not only limit itself to lip service but also exercise its powers to ensure that its authority is felt," Akhilesh said in a statement issued on Tuesday. The SP chief also referred to hate trolls that followed a video showing a woman in Nainital opposing a crowd that was pointing fingers at the entire Muslim community over the alleged rape of a minor in which the accused was a Muslim. The incident had led to communal violence in Nainital. In his statement, Akhilesh also made an apparent reference to the hate posts that followed Neha Rathore for asking 'tough questions' to the BJP govt over the Pahalgam attack and wondering why a number of major heinous terror attacks in the past took place when the BJP was in power. "All these women are being openly threatened and highly objectionable language is being used against them but no action is taken against such people," he said."The BJP also tries to project that it values Nari Vandana but that is not true. The fact is that the BJP is against women. This is the time to openly back those gutsy women who are calling the BJP out. It is time to expose the BJP and their Sangi-Sathi of their anti-woman mindset," he added.'SP will buy JPNIC if govt wants to sell it'Lucknow: Akhilesh Yadav said the BJP govt has come out with its plan to sell off Jai Prakash Narain International Centre (JPNIC) that was built during the Samajwadi Party regime. In such a scenario the SP will seek donations from its cadre and buy the building as it has ideological reasons and emotional attachment with the project. "When the foundation of JPNIC was laid during the SP govt, socialist leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav and George Fernandes among others attended the event. The premises has a museum on socialist ideologue Jai Prakash Narain. It is the best museum on any political personality in the world. Now that govt wants to sell it and if it agrees to sell it to SP, I will appeal to the cadres to donate so that we socialist can buy this building which is a socialist memorial," Akhilesh said.'Not even a 'sutli' bomb has been made'Lucknow: Accusing the BJP of acquiring land of farmers in Bundelkhand in the name of defence corridor to manufacture fighter jets, tanks and missiles, Akhilesh Yadav said govt has not been able to manufacture even a Sutli Bomb (firecracker) there. As a result, the central govt was still importing all defence equipment from the international market, he said.
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Lucknow to get 2 world class convention centres
Lucknow: Lucknow will get two world class convention centres which will enable the city to host global-level events. An international-standard convention centre with a seating capacity for 10,000 people will be built in Vrindavan Yojana in Lucknow over the next two years, while the pending construction of the Jayaprakash Narayan International Convention Centre (JPNIC) in Gomtinagar will be completed and handed over to the Lucknow Development Authority soon. This was decided in a review meeting of the housing and urban planning department chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday. He assessed various ongoing projects across the state, including those in Lucknow. The centre in Vrindavan Yojana will be built over 32.5 acres land under the supervision of the Housing and Development Board, with an estimated cost of Rs 900 crore. It will be developed on a Public-Private Partnership model and the complex will also include five-star and budget hotels to accommodate various categories of visitors. At present, Lucknow lacks a convention centre with the capacity to host 10,000 attendees, making this a landmark project for the city's infrastructure and tourism. The CM told officials that JPNIC be handed over to LDA at the earliest. According to LDA officials, around Rs 100 crore will be required to complete the pending work. Spread over 18 acres of land, the JPNIC project headed by LDA was launched in 2013 during SP govt with an initial outlay of Rs 865 crore, which was revised to Rs 923 crore in 2015. However, it ran into delays amid scrutiny over construction quality and was left incomplete. Yogi also emphasised the need to extend the jurisdiction of LDA. He directed that the DPR (Detailed Project Report) for UP State Capital Region)be prepared soon, stressing that there should be no delay in the process. The SCR will include areas from Lucknow as well as the districts of Hardoi, Sitapur, Unnao, Raebareli, and Barabanki. The total area covered will be 27,826 square kilometres. The CM also reviewed metro projects across the state and directed officials to expedite work on the second corridor of the Lucknow Metro, from Charbagh to Vasant Kunj. | The CM directed for fast approval of building maps. He called for review of pending building map approvals, emphasising repeated objections were inappropriate and that the process must be streamlined for single-instance resolution. He instructed all such cases be resolved within a deadline. To encourage private investment, he stressed prioritising public-private partnership projects and launching special housing schemes for migrant workers. He mandated urban standards such as green building certification, solar rooftops, rainwater harvesting, and waste management. He also called for the UP Awas mobile app and the RERA portal to be made more user-friendly and transparent. He stressed the need for integrated approach to urban planning, residents' safety, infrastructure and digital management and directed GIS-based master plans pending approval be sanctioned before May-end. The meeting also reviewed a three-month action plan, including implementation of UP Town and Country Planning Act–2025, Land Pooling Policy–2025 and Building Construction and Development Bylaws–2025. Revised guidelines will be issued to ensure timely project completion under the Integrated Township Policy.
