Akhilesh cries foul as Eid remains peaceful in UP

WHILE Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the state administration of deliberately stopping his convoy, delaying his visit to the Lucknow Eidgah to greet Namazis, Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated peacefully amid tight security cover in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, with the Muslim community offering Namaz at 30,000 mosques and 40,000 Eidgahs across the state.

- NAMITA BAJPAI @ Lucknow

Amid orders imposed by the government prohibiting Namaz on roads and public places and strict vigil in districts such as Sambhal, Aligarh, Lucknow, and Meerut, Namazis thronged the Jama masjid in Varanasi, offering Namaz on mosque stairs as roads were off bound.