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‘BJP orchestrated Sambhal violence to cover up election malpractice’: Akhilesh Yadav
Akhilesh Yadav alleged several injuries in the Sambhal violence and questioned the need for a second mosque survey when one had already been conducted.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused the BJP, along with the state government and administration, of “orchestrating” the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal during a mosque survey to distract from alleged “electoral malpractice”.
His statement followed an incident where police used tear gas and “minor force” to control stone-pelting locals as tensions rose during a second survey of the Mughal-era mosque in the district.
“What happened in Sambhal was orchestrated by the BJP, the government and the administration to divert attention from electoral malpractices,” news agency PTI quoted Akhilesh Yadav as saying.
“A serious incident occurred in Sambhal. A survey team was deliberately sent in the morning to disrupt discussions about the elections. The intention was to create chaos so that no debate on election issues could happen,” the Samajwadi Party chief claimed.
Referring to reports, Yadav claimed that several people were injured during the violence in Sambhal. He questioned the necessity of conducting a second mosque survey when one had already been completed.
“Why was a new survey conducted again, and that too in the morning and without preparation?” he asked.
Yadav said, “I don't want to go into the legal or procedural aspects, but the other side was not even heard. This was intentionally done to provoke emotions and avoid discussions on election rigging.”
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister's remarks came a day after the bypoll results, in which the Samajwadi Party won only two seats, while the BJP and its ally RLD secured the remaining seven. Yadav also made serious allegations against the police and administration following the poll outcomes.
Akhilesh Yadav alleged that on polling day, the police and administration removed almost all of the Samajwadi Party's booth agents and blocked many supporters from casting their votes.
He questioned the voting process, saying, “If voters were prevented from voting, then who cast the votes? If Samajwadi Party votes didn't reach those booths and our candidate didn't get support, then who voted there? This is a serious issue.”
Yadav said, “Additionally, there were two types of slips, -- one with a red mark and another regular slip. We raised this issue on the voting day itself, stating that the administration had created such arrangements, leading to discrimination.”
Samajwadi Party's Kundarki bypoll candidate, Haji Rizwan, echoed these allegations, claiming his supporters were barred from voting. In this seat, BJP's Ramveer Singh won by a margin of over 1.45 lakh votes.
What happened in Sambhal?
On Sunday morning, Uttar Pradesh police used tear gas and lathi-charge to disperse a mob that pelted stones at officers conducting a second survey of the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, which many claim had originally been the site of an ancient Hindu temple.
Some miscreants also set vehicles on fire. Despite the unrest, the survey was completed, and the team was safely escorted out, according to the police.
An official said that ten people have been detained, and an investigation into the violence has been initiated.
Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said that action will be taken against people who hindered the survey.
Tensions have been rising in Sambhal over the past few days, following the first survey of the Jama Masjid last Tuesday. The survey was conducted under a local court's orders after a petition alleged that a Harihar temple previously existed at the site.
(With PTI inputs)
