Hathras to Lakhimpur Kheri to Sambhal: Cases of Oppn leaders stopped by UP police

Apart from Rahul, Priyanka and some other Cong leaders, SP MPs have also been barred from going to violence-hit Sambhal over the week

Huge traffic snarl at the Ghazipur Border , as security barricades to stop Rahul Gandhi from heading for Sambhal, hampers rush hour traffic in the capital. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

When Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were stopped on the Delhi-UP border Wednesday on their way to Sambhal, it was not the first time that the Uttar Pradesh police prevented the Opposition leaders from visiting violence-hit or tense areas in the state.

On Monday, a fact-finding team of the Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders was stopped by the police outside their party office in Lucknow as they were leaving for Sambhal.

Last Saturday, three Samajwadi Party (SP) parliamentarians, including its Sambhal MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, were stopped from entering Sambhal town as the district administration had extended the ban on the entry of outsiders until December 10 to maintain “peace and order”.

Past instances

In July 2019, following a firing incident on tribals in Sonbhadra, Priyanka was to visit the families of those killed. However, she was detained at the Chunar guest house in Mirzapur as she was on her way. A month later, she met the families of the victims and vowed to stand with them till they get back the land over which the clash took place. Violence had erupted in Sonbhadra following a dispute over a land.

Rahul and Priyanka were also detained in October 2020 in the afternath of the Hathras gangrape. Their cavalcade was stopped by the UP police at the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida while en route to Hathras. They continued to make their way on foot but were arrested and released an hour later.

The brother-sister duo were again detained in October 2021 while they were on their way to meet the kin of four farmers who died in Lakhimpur Kheri. Then Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra was arrested in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

Rahul and Priyanka, however, managed to reach Lakhimpur Kheri late at night after high voltage-drama was seen over their detention.

Story continues below this ad

The then Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, both from the Congress, were also stopped then from reaching Lakhimpur Kheri,

In these cases, the police had cited Section 144 — which disallows the assembly of more than four or more people in a specific area in the cases of “potential danger” or “nuisance”.

Around the same time, SP president Akhilesh Yadav was also detained by the police in Lucknow to stop him from visiting Lakhimpur Kheri after the incident. Heavy police deployment was seen outside the SP chief’s house to stop him from leaving the area.

How Opposition has reacted

As Rahul was stopped at the Ghazipur border by the police Wednesday, he insisted that it was “his right” to visit Sambhal. With a copy of the Constitution in his hand, he said: “I am ready to go alone to Sambhal with police, but am not being allowed.”

Story continues below this ad

The UP Congress alleged that the BJP government in the state has made “a habit of stopping Opposition leaders from meeting those suffering because of the government’s failures”.

UP Congress general secretary Anil Yadav charged that the state government was stopping leaders because it wanted to “hide what actually happened in Sambhal”. “They did the same in Lakhimpur Kheri when Priyanka ji was detained for 20 hours. When she finally reached there, she was told that it was the BJP who was behind the violence. It has to be the same in Sambhal. This has become a modus operandi of the BJP government in UP. This is unprecedented, and happens nowhere in a democratic set up,” he alleged.

SP national spokesperson Abdul Hafeez Gandhi also alleged that the UP government has made it a “policy” to stop the Opposition leaders from visiting places after such incidents. “This goes against the democratic principles where the Opposition has a vital role. It has been a while since the violence in Sambhal, and the situation seems normal now. Then, why are Opposition leaders being stopped?” he asked.

The BJP has dismissed these allegations.

“Steps are taken by the local administration to maintain peace and tranquility in sensitive places like Sambhal. It has nothing to do with the government. If politicians go to Sambhal, there will be a possibility of tension being flared up, and hence, they are being stopped. In a few days, such curbs will be lifted and then Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi can do tourism in Sambhal,” said BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi.

Story continues below this ad

He added: “We have seen the effect Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq’s speech had on the peace and tranquility in Sambhal. Hence, the local administration is being cautious.”

Unrest broke out in Sambhal on November 24 over a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in the town. Four people died in the violence.

Asad Rehman

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More