Denied Sambhal, Rahul and Priyanka meet victims’ families in Delhi

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met with the families of the Sambhal violence victims on Tuesday evening (10 December) at 10 Janpath in Delhi, the residence of Sonia Gandhi, sources told IANS.

According to sources, Rahul and Priyanka interacted with them and tried to get various details of the incidents in Sambhal. The family members of the victims narrated how the event unfolded there, the sources added.

Last week, the Uttar Pradesh government had denied permission for the Congress leaders to visit the victims' families in Sambhal district. On 4 December, while attempting to travel to Sambhal, both Congress leaders (among others) were stopped at the Ghazipur border between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

At the border, Rahul Gandhi stated, "It is my right to go to Sambhal as the Leader of the Opposition, but the police were stopping me."

He further added, "I am ready to go alone, I am ready to go with the police, but they did not accept that either. They are saying that if we come back in a few days, then they will let us go."

"This is against the rights of the LoP and against the Constitution. We just want to go to Sambhal and see what happened there, we want to meet the people. My constitutional right is not being given to me. This is the new India; this is the India to end the Constitution. This is the India to end Ambedkar's Constitution. We will keep fighting."

Sambhal has remained tense since 19 November, following a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque, based on claims that a Harihar temple once stood at the site.

Violence erupted on 24 November, the second day of the survey, when protesters clashed with security personnel near the Shahi Jama Masjid. Four people were killed in the violence, with many others injured.

Reporting on the meeting, the official Congress handle on X said: 'The incident in Sambhal is the ill-effects of BJP's hate politics and it is fatal for a peaceful society.

'Together we have to defeat this violent and hateful mentality with love and brotherhood.

'We stand with all the victims and will fight to get them justice.'

With IANS inputs