Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi, on way to Sambhal, stopped at Ghazipur border; massive traffic jam
Security arrangement were in place over the planned visit of Lok Sabha LoP and Cong MP Rahul Gandhi along with his MP sister Priyanka to violence-hit Sambhal.
Traffic on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway near the Ghazipur border moved slowly on Wednesday morning due to heightened security measures for the scheduled visit of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, and Priyanka Gandhi to Uttar Pradesh's violence-hit Sambhal district.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were later stopped at the Ghazipur border while they were on their way to Sambhal and turned back.
At the congested Ghazipur border, Rahul Gandhi said it is his right to go to Sambhal as the Leader of Opposition, but the police is stopping him. "I am ready to go alone, I am ready to go with the police, but they did not accept that too. 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," Rahul Gandhi said.
The traffic congestion at Delhi-Meerut Expressway in Ghaziabad worsened as scores of Congress workers gathered there ahead of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi's planned visit to Sambhal.
On being asked if Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be stopped by police, Indirapuram ACP Swatantra Kumar Singh said the cops "do not have any such command as of now."
"The orders that I have been given is to maintain good security here. We will follow the commands given to us." ACP Swatantra Kumar Singh said.
Rahul Gandhi's Sambhal visit
A Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi planned a visit to the violence-hit Sambhal, where violence broke out on November 24 over a court-ordered survey of a mosque. Prohibitory orders, including a ban on the entry of outsiders, are in place in Sambhal. Last week, several Samajwadi Party (SP) MPs were stopped from entering the district.
Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which were set to expire on Sunday, have now been extended till December 31 in Sambhal.
Also Read | ‘Sambhal violence well-planned conspiracy’: Akhilesh Yadav in Parliament
Sambhal District Magistrate Rajendra Pensia on Tuesday wrote a letter to the police commissioners of Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad and the superintendents of police of Amroha and Bulandshahr districts, urging them to stop Rahul Gandhi at the borders of their districts keeping in mind the "communal sensitivity" of Sambhal.
Gandhi was accompanied by five other Congress MPs from Uttar Pradesh. Newly elected Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also a part of the delegation.
On Gandhi's visit, Superintendent of Police of Sambhal Krishan Kumar told news agency PTI on Tuesday that if the Congress delegation comes, it will be served a notice as Section 163 of the BNSS is in force in Sambhal and no outsider is allowed.
"Police are citing BNS 163 in their missive. So we will insist that they allow at least 4 people. If stopped, we will push for allowing Rahul ji, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ji, UP incharge Avinash Pande ji and myself to enter," Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai told PTI.
Gandhi left Delhi at around 10 am for Sambhal and planned to visit the families of those killed in the November 24 violence. After meeting the families, Gandhi was supposed to return to Delhi by road, according to his itinerary.
Sambhal has been tense since November 19, when a Mughal-era mosque was surveyed on court orders following claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site.
Violence erupted during a second survey on November 24 as protesters gathered near Shahi Jama Masjid and clashed with security personnel. Four people were killed in the violence and many more were injured.
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