New Delhi: The violence in Sambhal was preplanned, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav alleged in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday and sought to link tensions over a survey at a local mosque following claims that it was built on a temple to the November 20 Assembly bypolls.
Yadav failed to complete his remark in the House and Chariman Jagdeep Dhankhar said certain parts of his statement will not go in the records. At this, the SP and some other opposition parties staged a walkout from the Zero Hour session.
After days of proceedings being washed out, the House Tuesday functioned normally and Zero Hour, during which members raise issues of public interest with prior approval of the Chair, was taken up.
Raising the Sambhal issue, Yadav said a survey was done November 19 after a lawyer obtained permission from a local court. The survey was carried out in two hours, he added. On November 24, he said Sambhal was converted into a police cantonment and people were baffled why it was being done.
After some time, the district magistrate, the superintendent of police and the lawyer concerned along with some people entered the mosque, Yadav said.
The SP leader said the crowd suspected that they have gone into the mosque to carry out a demolition.
At one time water started flowing out of the mosque, and people thought some mischief was happening in the mosque, he said. After that, the peace was disturbed with police opening fire in which five people were killed and several injured, Yadav said.
The senior MP added that cases have been filed against several people and many in jail.
Linking the incident to the November 20 bypolls, Yadav said the incident was “preplanned” to divert the attention of the people.
As Yadav was speaking, the Chairman said, “You made your point.” He then called Sandosh Kumar P (CPI) to his raise issue regarding the recent landslide in Wayanad in Kerala.
In protest and solidarity with the issue of Sambhal violence, SP, AITC, RJD, IUML, and Shiv Sena (UBT), among others staged a walkout from the House.
PTI