Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday lashed at the ruling party over the Sambhal violence in Uttar Pradesh and alleged that the incident was a “well-thought strategy” of the BJP to distract the public from other, more pressing issues.
Taking a swipe at the BJP, Yadav said, “Those who want to dig everywhere will someday lose the cordiality and brotherhood of the country.”
The SP leader also accused the administration involved in the Sambhal case of acting in a biased manner, suggesting that they were behaving as though they were BJP party workers rather than impartial authorities.
The SP supremo also claimed that his party has consistently tried to bring up the Sambhal issue since the beginning of the current parliamentary session but the proceedings in the House have not been functioning properly, preventing them from raising their concerns.
Speaking to the media here today, Akhilesh Yadav said, “Since the day when the parliament session began, the Samajwadi Party has tried to raise the issue of the Sambhal incident. The House didn’t function, but our demand is still the same – we want to put our views on the Sambhal incident in the House.”
“The officers out there are working arbitrarily – such that they are working as party workers of the BJP. Sambhal incident is a well-thought strategy of the BJP to deviate people from other issues. Those who want to dig everywhere – someday they will lose the cordiality and brotherhood of the country,” said Akhilesh Yadav.
Earlier on Monday, Uttar Pradesh Police issued a notice to Congress state president Ajay Rai asking them not to visit violence-hit Sambhal.
In the notice given to Ajay Rai, he has been informed that “Keeping in mind the peace and communal sensitivity in Sambhal district, he should cooperate in the public interest and postpone his proposed program so that the order passed by the District Magistrate of Sambhal district, Section 163 BNSS is not violated.”
Tensions in Sambhal have been high since November 19 when clashes between protestors and police over the court-ordered survey of the Jama Masjid resulted in four deaths.
Yadav also spoke on the Bangladesh issue, and said, “The government of India should think about it – these things shouldn’t happen – how they can claim to be a strong government if they cannot respect our saints.”
The situation in Bangladesh has been marked by increasing violence against minority communities, after the arrest of a spritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das over sedition charges and for allegedly hoisting a saffron flag above Bangladesh’s national flag in Chittagong on October 25.