Sambhal atmosphere worsened due to Friday prayer speeches, says Yogi

Four people were killed after violence erupted in Sambhal on November 24 during protests against the survey of the mosque which was ordered by a court after a petition claimed that it was the site of the Harihar temple and sought permission to worship there.

“They (Opposition) are trying to cover up the truth, but no one can hide the Sun, moon and truth for long. The truth will soon come out,” Adityanath said while responding to the demand of Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mata Prasad Pandey and other Samajwadi Party (SP) members for a discussion on the recent violence in Sambhal and Bahraich along with similar incidents.

The CM’s remarks came as the Sambhal violence issue rocked the opening day of the winter session, with the Opposition alleging a “conspiracy” by the administration behind the violence.

However, Adityanath claimed that since 1947, 209 persons belonging to a particular community had been killed in different incidents of communal violence in Sambhal.

Demanding a debate over the issue, Samajwadi Party legislators entered the well of the house raising slogans against the government as soon the proceedings began. The entire Question Hour was washed out as the House was adjourned for nearly an hour following these protests.

The day began with Samajwadi Party MLAs first protesting outside the Assembly with pla-cards, alleging a conspiracy by the BJP government in the state behind Sambhal violence, apart from highlighting other issues. As soon as the proceedings began, LoP Pandey as well as Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Aradhana Mishra requested that other proceedings be stopped and a discussion should first take place on the recent violence in Sambhal as well as Bahraich.

As speaker Satish Mahana turned down the request by pointing out that due time would be given to them after the question hour, SP MLAs entered the well of the House.

Despite repeated requests by Mahana, as SP legislators refused to budge and the House was adjourned for one hour, till 12:20 pm. As soon as the house met again, SP MLAs again raised the issue of discussion on Sambhal and Bahraich violence.

Sambhal MLA Iqbal Mahmood spoke first and alleged that the November 24 violence was incited as slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” were raised after completion of the survey. Adityanath later rejected the MLA’s allegations.

Mahmood, a 7-time MLA, also alleged that youth were killed in police firing and demanded that a vidhan sabha committee be formed to look into the incident.

He also alleged that “new officials” were posted in Sambhal around the time of the incident and that the violence was “orchestrated” to divert attention from the “manipulation of votes” in the Kundarki Assembly constituency. It may be mentioned that Kundarki was a sitting seat of the SP, which lost it to the BJP as the results were announced on November 23.

Replying to the allegations, Adityanath said that NCRB data shows that there has been a 99 per cent decrease in incidents of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh since 2017. He claimed that between 2012 and 2017, there were 815 riots in which 192 people were killed.

Alleging that the Opposition was “hiding facts to mislead”, the CM said that the survey was done on the basis of a court directive.

Emphasising that action is taken based on proof and no innocent person would bear the brunt, Adityanath warned that those involved in stone pelting would be dealt with strictly.

He urged the Opposition leaders to read the original Constitution, claiming that they would not find words such as “Dharma Nirpekshta, Pantha Nirpekshta or Samajwad” in it.

The CM added that be it the Sambhal incident or the (BJP’s) victory in Kundarki, the public has “seen the truth behind the false claims of the Opposition.” — With PTI inputs