Lucknow, Aug. 28 -- The Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC), a sprawling convention complex in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar left locked for almost a decade, has once again become the centre of a political war of words in Uttar Pradesh.

Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday hit out at the BJP government in the state and Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) officials for the decision to lease the facility to private players, calling it a deliberate sell-off of a public asset created with taxpayers' money. He dramatically offered to take over the centre for "one rupee extra."

JPNIC has been one of the most prominent infrastructure projects associated with the previous Samajwadi Party government. The issue has c...