Pawan Khera condemns Sambhal violence, calls it well-planned conspiracy

Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday condemned the incidents of violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district, describing it as a "well-planned conspiracy".

The violence, which erupted during a survey of a mosque on Sunday morning, resulted in three deaths and injuries to around two dozen people, including policemen and senior officials.

In a statement, Khera, Chairman, Media & Publicity (Communications Dept), AICC, said, "No citizen in Uttar Pradesh is "SAFE" under CM Adityanath, who gave the reprehensible slogan of "Batenge toh Katenge". This is evident by the highly deplorable incidents of Sambhal today. The videos of direct firing on protesters in Sambhal depict the horrifying result of a well-planned conspiracy by CM Adityanath and the BJP-RSS. Western Uttar Pradesh, which has been a symbol of goodwill and harmony for years, has today witnessed three people killed and many injured under a well-planned conspiracy." 

 

"We say with full responsibility that the Adityanath administration is squarely responsible for killing innocents and only the BJP-RSS is guilty of setting fire to the peace and harmony of Sambhal. Modi-Yogi 'double assault' governments, which consider the minority community as second-class citizens, hurriedly got a petition filed in court. It is public knowledge that the court ordered an immediate survey without hearing the other side," Pawan Khera said in his statement.

"The BJP neither wanted the survey to proceed nor to stop it; its sole objective was to destroy harmony. No action was taken against the rioters who accompanied the survey team. This makes it clear that after the by-elections in the state, the Yogi government has further intensified the politics of violence and hatred. Questions are being raised about the role of the police and the administration, because many innocent people have lost their lives in this violence, and more than two dozen people have been injured. Inciting communal hatred and driving a wedge between two communities - is the DNA of BJP-RSS!" he said.

"On one hand, there is an empty slogan of "Ek Hai Toh SAFE Hain" - on the other hand, they divide communities ! On one hand, there is lie of "Sabka Saath- Sabka Vishwas" that has been going on for a decade, on the other hand, the minority community is constantly being targeted in Uttar Pradesh," the Congress leader said. "In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP government is destroying communal harmony and brotherhood for political gains, which is highly condemnable and objectionable. We appeal to the BJP to prioritize the nation's interests over their political ambitions," he added.

"We want to ask Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Adityanath whether they will follow the statement of their own Mohan Bhagwat ji in June 2022 (even if it is pretentious!) in which he said that "History is something that we cannot change. Neither today's Hindus nor today's Muslims made it, it happened at that time.... Why see Shivling in every mosque?.... Now we do not have to do any agitation.." Khera said.

Earlier, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP and the administration of orchestrating the incident to prevent any discussion on "election fraud."

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak reacted to the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, criticising SP chief for "not believing in judicial system." He demanded an apology from SP and alleged that they do not believe in the judiciary or the Constitution.

"They raise finger on Election Commission, They raise finger on Judicial system, that what they did in Sambhal. The ASI team that went to Sambhal went on the orders of the court. The police have done their work in whatever has gone wrong there. What are you saying, aren't you ashamed? Whom do you stand with? You don't believe in the Judiciary, you don't believe in the Election Commission, you don't believe in the Constitution. This kind of statement will not be accepted by the state's public. SP should apologise to the public of the state," Pathak said.

Meanwhile, around 20 people have been taken into custody in connection with the violence. The incident left three people dead and around two dozen others, including policemen and senior officials, injured.

Those responsible for the violence will be charged under the National Security Act (NSA), said officials. As a precaution, internet services across the district have been suspended for a day, officials added.