No Literary Festival for Lucknow; authorities pack bags

Published on: 11 Nov 2017 9:50 AM GMT

No Literary Festival for Lucknow; authorities pack bags

Lucknow: The fifth edition of Lucknow Literary Festival came to an end of Saturday after the police forced the organisers to pack bags and leave the venue, calling off the the event.

The event that began on Friday last amid the Model Code of Conduct with the theme of ‘Literature, Politics and We’, was called off within an hour of its embarkation as in no time it transformed into a platform to criticise the BJP-led central and Uttar Pradesh governments.

The fallout began after JNU student union president Kanhiya Kumar tried to condemn the Centre and the state governments for trying to suppress every voice that goes against them.

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Incidentally, the organiser of the literary festival, Shamim A Aarzoo, had not taken permission for inviting Kanhiya Kumar and AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi. The permission for the rest of the invitees, however, was granted by the administration.