PM Modi’s brother sits on dharna at Lucknow airport after UP police arrested his supporters

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brother Prahlad Modi staged a dharna at the Lucknow airport on Wednesday, alleging that police did not let his supporters reach there.

According to Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport’s Additional General Manager (Operations) Bhupendra Singh, Prahlad Modi arrived at Lucknow by an Indigo flight around 4 in the evening. He sat on a dharna on the airport premises as he was unhappy over police stopping his supporters from reaching there, Singh added.

Sitting at the airport, Prahlad Modi, vice-president of All India Fair Price Shop Dealers’ Federation (AIFPSDF), questioned the functioning of the Lucknow police and even threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike if his supporters were not released with immediate effect.

“Today, I was to go to Prayagraj and my programmes are going on since yesterday. It will be unfair if I walk free outside while my supporters stay lodged in jail. Hence, I have decided to sit here [Lucknow airport] on a hunger strike. I have given up water and food. I will not get up from here, even if my life ends,” Prahlad Modi said.

However, according to the information we have been able to access, Prahlad Modi’s supporters were arrested for violating Section 144 for assembly at the high-security zone in the airport. They have been released now.

Prahlad Modi said that around 100 of his supporters had come to receive him at the airport.

However, later in the evening, Modi ended his sit-in after the release of his supporters in Sultanpur.

Earlier, the Sultanpur police, on Wednesday morning, had arrested Jitendra Tiwari, an aide of Prahalad Modi for putting up posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with UP CM Yogi Adityanath without seeking any permission for using their pictures. The posters also had photos of Home Minister Amit Shah and Dy CMs of the state.