LUCKNOW: Protests against the income tax notice served on megastar Amitabh Bachchan erupted on the streets on Monday with Samajwadi Party workers staging demonstrations in six cities of Uttar Pradesh. Angry SP activists also burnt effigies of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In Lucknow, SP workers marched from the city unit of the party before staging a demonstration at the Vidhan Bhawan building. Raising anti-Congress slogans the activists demanded that the be withdrawn. The protest was led by president of the party's Lucknow unit Mujibur Rehman `Babloo', who alleged that the Bachchan family was being targeted by the central government. "Earlier, it was the case of Jaya losing her Rajya Sabha membership, now IT notices have been served on Mr. Bachchan at the behest of the Congress", he said.

Another group of demonstrators marched to the income tax office on Ashok Marg and staged a dharna. No untoward incident took place and the demonstrators dispersed after airing their protest.

However, the situation threatened to take an ugly turn in Mr. Bachchan's hometown, Allahabad, where some SP workers made an attempt to scale Anand Bhawan, and damaged the income tax office in the Civil Lines area .

Home Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tewari told newspersons that at around 1p.m. some persons staged a demonstration at the income tax office and also damaged some windowpanes and a car parked inside the office. Later, a FIR was lodged against 50 unnamed persons at the Civil Lines police station, he said. No arrests have been made.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail