The Indian Express                14.04.2013

LMC removes BSP hoardings on eve of Ambedkar birth anniversary

Hours after the BSP workers erected hoardings in Gomti Nagar area
surrounding Ambedkar Memorial where the party is going to hold a
function on Sunday morning to celebrate the birth anniversary of Dr BR
Ambedkar, Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) removed most of the
hoardings saying they were put without permission. The hoarding were put
up in the wee hours of Saturday.

The BSP termed the LMC’s move as vindictive mindset of Samajwadi
Party (SP) government to stop the party from celebrating Ambedkar’s
birth anniversary. BSP general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui reached at
the place where the LMC workers were removing the hoardings and
objected against it.

He said the SP government, which is working with the vindictive
mindset, has done all this to insult the constitution maker. Siddiqui
said the LMC had given permission to erect 515 hoardings but they
erected only about hundred and even those were removed by the officials.
He said the LMC left only a few hoardings after he protested against
the removal and sought the list of areas which are prohibited for
erecting the hoardings.

“The hoardings of the chief minister have been erected in this
area for months but they were never removed. We put the hoardings just
for a day to celebrate the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar but
they are removed immediately. I know this is not the area prohibited for
erecting hoardings. I have asked the LMC to provide the list of
prohibited areas and if they do not provide the same, we will then think
of re-erecting the hoardings,” Siddiqui said.

While LMC city commissioner R K Singh could not be reached for
his comments despite repeated attempts, R K Gupta, LMC’s zonal officer,
said the BSP had been given permission to erect hoarding only at the
structures which already exist. He said only the hoardings which were
not put at pre-built structures were removed.