Denied Sambhal visit, Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi meet families of those killed in violence in Delhi

Last week, the government of Uttar Pradesh had denied the Congress leaders permission to travel to and visit the families in Sambhal district.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his MP sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday evening met the families of Sambhal violence victims at 10 Janpath in Delhi, the residence of their mother Sonia Gandhi, sources said.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra after they were stopped at the Ghazipur border on their way to visit violence-hit Sambhal, in Ghaziabad, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (PTI)

Last week, the government of Uttar Pradesh had denied the Congress leaders permission to travel to and visit the families in Sambhal district.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were stopped at the Ghazipur border between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on December 4 while they were trying to travel to Sambhal to meet the families of the victims.

Rahul, Priyanka stopped from visiting Sambhal

At the Ghazipur border, Rahul Gandhi had said it is his right to go to Sambhal as the Leader of Opposition, but the police was 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 had said.

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 on November 24, Day 2 of the court-ordered survey, as protesters gathered near Shahi Jama Masjid and clashed with security personnel. Four people were killed in the violence and many more were injured.

Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been extended till December 31 in Sambhal.