Times News NetworkKanpur: The district administration placed Samajwadi Party MLA from Aryanagar Assembly seat Amitabh Bajpai under house arrest on Friday morning amid a standoff over the reconstruction of a primary school at Parmat, Kanpur.The Parmat primary school, which had been in a dilapidated state for a long time, was demolished recently. Local residents and the SP MLA alleged that land mafia had their eyes on this land and the administration was deliberately delaying its construction. Bajpai had been demanding that a govt school building be constructed there at the earliest so that the education of children was not disrupted.The SP MLA and a BJP functionary were at loggerheads over the primary school. The MLA wanted to construct three rooms in the school, while Suresh Awasthi of the BJP opposed it, stating that he would build a smart class there. The primary school fell within the SP MLA’s Aryanagar Assembly constituency. The MLA claimed he had an NOC and work order, whereas Awasthi stated that he, too, had an NOC for constructing a smart class and a boundary wall from the MP fund.On May 14 the foundation-laying ceremony was scheduled to be held, but on May 13, the SP MLA arrived at the school along with his supporters and halted the work. The move triggered an altercation among Awasthi and the MLA’s supporters. The SP MLA staged a sit-in outside the school from where police took him to the DCP, central, office.On Thursday, Bajpai released a video announcing to hold a foundation-laying ceremony at the school on Friday. After the video surfaced, the police placed him under house arrest. On Friday morning, forces from three police stations arrived at his residence and a barricading was set up from all sides.At 11 am on Friday, Bajpai stepped out of his home with a damru, accompanied by his wife, but was stopped by police. The SP MLA told officers, “If we are not allowed to proceed, we will conduct a virtual foundation-laying ceremony from here itself.” Upset over the restriction, he later performed a puja of five shilas (stones) inside his home. Bajpai took a vow that until the Parmat primary school was fully constructed, he wouldnot participate in any political event or party meetings.
