Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of staging a political drama during his attempt to visit Sambhal on Wednesday. The Uttar Pradesh police stopped Gandhi at the Delhi-UP border, citing security concerns. The BJP alleged that Gandhi’s visit was aimed at appealing to the Muslim vote bank and lacked genuine sympathy for the victims of the recent violence.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya criticized Gandhi, stating, “Both Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi are indulging in politics to secure Muslim votes. This is mere theatrics. The decline of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress is inevitable. SP will soon become the ‘Samaptawadi Party,’ and India will be Congress-free.”
Maurya also claimed that the Sambhal violence, which left four people dead on November 24, was the result of internal rivalries between a Samajwadi Party MLA and MP.
BJP’s Counter on Gandhi’s Actions
BJP National Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi accused Gandhi of visiting Sambhal without prior intimation to the authorities, suggesting it was an attempt to garner media attention. “This so-called yatra was not out of sympathy but to get a better photo-op than his allies in the Samajwadi Party,” Trivedi said.
Trivedi further noted that Gandhi, as the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, enjoys Z-plus Advanced Security Liaison (ASL) security, which requires prior notification for such visits. “If Rahul Gandhi genuinely intended to visit Sambhal out of concern, he would have informed the authorities. Instead, he made a formal attempt and returned,” Trivedi said.
Tensions Over INDI Alliance Dynamics
Highlighting potential rifts within the INDI Alliance, Trivedi suggested that Congress and the Samajwadi Party were vying for dominance over their core Muslim voter base. “This was motivated by mutual competition within the INDI Alliance to secure their vote bank. There is no real sympathy for the people involved in this,” he remarked.
Gandhi’s attempt to visit Sambhal followed the recent violence that erupted during a court-ordered survey at a Mughal-era mosque to ascertain the presence of remnants of a Hindu temple. While Gandhi alleged infringement upon his rights as Leader of the Opposition, BJP leaders dismissed his actions as politically motivated.
