Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Iqra Munawwar Hasan expressed outrage after being stopped by police on Saturday while attempting to visit the violence-affected district of Sambhal. The SP delegation aimed to investigate the incident and identify those responsible.
“The delegation of the Samajwadi Party was going to Sambhal. We were trying to give the information regarding the Sambhal incident. We wanted to make a correct analysis and find out those who were responsible. We wanted to submit the information to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to demand action, but they have stopped us. They have restricted the visit till December 10. The delegation of the Samajwadi Party consisting of 15 people is being stopped at different places. How can they stop us from going to Sambhal under a democracy? We will also raise this issue in the Parliament,” Hasan told reporters.
The police also prevented other SP leaders, including MLAs and MPs, from entering Sambhal. SP state president Shyam Lal Pal was reportedly placed under house arrest, as confirmed by the party’s official handle on X (formerly Twitter).
“Yogi government is afraid of SP delegation! On the orders of the government, the police prevented the honourable state president Shri Shyam Lal Pal ji from coming to Sambhal and put him under house arrest. The BJP government is tearing apart the constitution and democracy. Highly condemnable,” the SP posted on X.
Additionally, SP leader Mata Prasad Pandey was barred from visiting Sambhal amid heavy police deployment outside his residence. Other leaders, including Zia Ur Rehman Barq and Harendra Malik, were also stopped by police while traveling to Sambhal from New Delhi.
The tensions stem from a November 19 court order directing a survey of Sambhal’s Jama Masjid following a petition claiming that the mosque was previously a Harihar temple. The court-ordered survey sparked protests and clashes, resulting in the deaths of four individuals.
The SP has condemned the police’s actions, accusing the Uttar Pradesh government of suppressing democratic rights and “disgracing” the Constitution. The party has vowed to raise the issue in Parliament and demand accountability.