New Delhi: Congress leaders including Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who are on their way to violence-hit Sambhal have been stopped at the Ghazipur border on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
Barricades were placed across the road, bringing traffic to a standstill as the Congress leaders' convoy reached the border.
SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav reacted to LoP Rahul Gandhi's visit to Sambhal and said, "Our party was already going there and they too were not allowed. They (Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders) are going only now."
Meanwhile, the security has been heightened at the border as Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to visit violence-hit Sambhal, resulting in massive traffic snarl at the Ghazipur border on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
Earlier today, Congress leader Ajay Kumar Lallu said that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will surely visit the violence-hit Sambhal and meet the families of the victims, and will raise their voices in the Parliament.
"Why is the Government stopping us? What are they trying to hide, what are they scared of? Being the Leader of the Opposition, he has the right to see what is going on in the country. The incident that took place in Sambhal is highly condemnable. People have been killed. Who is responsible? If the LoP does not visit the site, how will he keep the issue in the Parliament? We want to see the situation in Sambhal but why is the Government stopping us? Isn't this a dictatorship? Rahul Gandhi will surely visit Sambhal and meet the families of the victims," Lallu told ANI.
The violence in Sambhal district erupted on November 24 during an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) examination of a Mughal-era mosque.
The clashes resulted in four fatalities and multiple injuries among police personnel and locals.
The ASI survey followed a petition filed in a local court, claiming that the mosque's site was originally a Harihar temple.
