NEW DELHI: Cops were deployed at Samajwadi Party leader Mata Prasad Pandey‘s residence on Saturday to block a 15-member delegation of the party from visiting violence-torn Sambhal district in Uttar Pradesh.
According to state assembly opposition leader Mata Prasad Pandey, Sambhal district magistrate called him and asked not to come.
“The DM Sambhal had also called me up telling me that the ban on entry of outsiders has been extended till December 10. So I will now visit the party office and discuss the issue before deciding on our next action,” Pandey said.
“The government perhaps wanted to prevent me to hide its wrongs in Sambhal as our visit would have exposed its several mistakes,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sambhal district administration also issued a circular prohibiting the entry of outsiders till December 10.
“No outsider, any social organisation or any public representative can enter into the borders of the district without seeking the permission of the competent authority till December 10,” Sambhal DM Rajendra Pensiya in a statement said.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav also targeted BJP-led UP government over the prohibitory orders in the district and demanded to suspend entire administrative board from top to bottom in Sambhal .
“Imposing a ban is a failure of the BJP government’s governance, administration and government management. If the government had imposed such a ban earlier on those who dreamed of causing riots and made people raise frenzied slogans, the atmosphere of harmony and peace in Sambhal would not have been spoiled,” Yadav said.
“Just like the BJP changes the entire cabinet at once, similarly, the entire administrative board from top to bottom in Sambhal should be suspended and dismissed by accusing them of negligence due to conspiracy and strict action should be taken against them and a case should also be filed against them for murder of someone,” he added.
SP state president Shyam Lal Pal had said on Friday that a party delegation will go to Sambhal on Saturday on the instructions of party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
The team will submit the report to the party chief after taking detailed information about the violence that took place there, he said.
A note shared earlier on ‘X’ by the SP state president had said that the delegation includes Mata Prasad Pandey, Lal Bihari Yadav, SP state president Shyamlal Pal, MPs Ziaur Rahman Barq, Harendra Malik, Ruchi Veera, Iqra Hasan and Neeraj Maurya.
At least four people died and several others, including over 20 police personnel, were injured in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal after violent clashes erupted following a court-mandated survey of the Mughal-era Jama Masjid.
The survey was ordered following a petition filed by senior advocate Vishnu Shanker Jain, claiming that the mosque was originally a temple.
