UP prohibits Owaisi meetings in Lucknow, Azamgarh

In the wake of MIM leader Asaduddin owaisi's assertion on `Bharatmata ki Jai' slogan, the otherwise friendly Samajwadi Party government of Akhilesh Yadav in UP has turned down plea to host the Hyderabad leader's meetings in Lucknow and Azamgarh. The UP government went a step ahead and passed orders prohibiting Owaisi from moving around with no more than 30 followers. Following the order, Owaisi's trips to Lucknow and Azamgarh have been cancelled, the UP chief of MIM Shauqat Ali announced on Thursday. Shauqat Ali commented that the Samajwadi Party was scared by Owaisi. That was the reason why his meetings were cancelled.