Thursday, 05 December 2024
Thursday, 05 December 2024
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, along with a delegation of senior party leaders, was stopped by the Uttar Pradesh police at the Ghazipur border on Wednesday morning while on his way to Sambhal, the epicenter of a communal clash a few days ago.
Accompanied by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha sought to meet victims and their families but was prevented from proceeding further. The Congress delegation was forced to return to Delhi after a two-hour wait at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.
The Ghazipur border on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway witnessed a massive traffic jam in the morning as Congress workers gathered there defying heavy barricading by the police.
Rahul Gandhi accused the government of curbing democratic rights. Holding up a copy of the Constitution and said, "We want to go to Sambhal and see what happened there. We want to meet the people, but I’m not being allowed my constitutional right. This is India, where attempts are on to end the Constitution. But we will keep fighting."
He questioned the police's refusal: “As the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, it is my right to go. I said I am ready to go alone, I am ready to go with the police, but they did not accept that either.”
Wayanad Lok Sabha MP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, referring to Rahul Gandhi said, "He is different from other people. He cannot be stopped. He has the constitutional right to go and meet the victims; he should be allowed."
The Uttar Pradesh government has prevented Opposition parties from visiting troubled areas before. In 2019, UP police stopped Priyanka Gandhi from visiting an aggrieved family whose members had been killed in Sonbhadra. In 2020, police arrested Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi on the Yamuna expressway near Greater Noida while they were en route to meet the family of a gangrape victim in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. UP cops also detained a delegation of Trinamool team on their way to Hathras during this time.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP and RSS of 'tearing the Constitution to shreds' by not allowing Gandhi to meet the victims. "Creating hatred between two communities is the only ideology of BJP-RSS. For this, they not only tore apart the Places of Worship Act passed by the Constitution, but now they are hell-bent on opening branches of their market for hatred everywhere. We will not bow down, we will not retreat," the Congress chief said.
In the state capital of Lucknow, the Congress legislative party leader in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Aradhana Mishra Mona, claimed she was placed under house arrest. "I am under house arrest. This is hooliganism and anarchy by the government. Rahul ji, the Congress party, and I will visit Sambhal today, tomorrow, or whenever we can," she said.
K.C. Venugopal, Congress general secretary (organisation), questioned the government’s motives, saying, “It is basic humanity to stand by someone who has suffered such grief and loss. Rahul ji's motto has been 'Nafrat ke bazaar mein mohabbat ki dukaan' (shop of love in a market of hate). The UP government must allow the delegation to visit Sambhal."
Besides the Congress, its partners in the INDIA alliance criticised the BJP government for preventing Gandhi.
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP government of hiding the truth. "What does the BJP government want to hide? From the first day, we said that the Sambhal administration acted on BJP’s instructions. What are they trying to hide?"
On Tuesday, Yadav in the Lok Sabha had accused the BJP for orchestrating Sambhal violence. "The incident that took place was a planned conspiracy. The BJP and its allies have been talking about digging and their repeated talks of digging (the area) will hurt the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb of the country. This government doesn't respect the Constitution," Yadav said on Sambhal.
RJD MP Manoj Jha remarked, "When you allow Opposition people to go there, the situation will improve. What problem do you have with this? Only those who are authoritarian and dictatorial will have a problem with this."
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi raised the matter in Parliament premises, stating, "We raised this issue in the House today and the INDIA alliance staged a walkout against this reprehensible action. The way BJP created conflict in Manipur, they want to do the same in different corners of the country."
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor added, "This is injustice. A public representative has the right to go and see the situation, listen to the voice of the people. Not letting them go is wrong."
The ruling BJP dismissed the Congress' actions as political posturing.
Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said, "Both Akhilesh and Rahul are trying to do politics of getting Muslim votes. They are enacting a drama. The decline of SP and Congress is certain. SP will become 'Samaptawadi Party,' and there will be Congress-mukt Bharat."
BJP national spokesperson Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi accused Rahul Gandhi of desperation. "Rahul Gandhi's attempt to visit sensitive areas of UP is a sign of his helplessness. This attempt was motivated by the competition between Congress and SP to get back their core vote bank."
Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak added, "An independent probe is on in the Sambhal violence. They should support the government in maintaining peace. They can attend a walima there after peace is restored."
