"Imposing restrictions on leaders visiting Sambhal reflects failure of BJP government": Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], November 30 (ANI): Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday lashed out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh over party leaders not being able to visit Sambhal, which had seen violence, and said that imposing restrictions "is a failure" of administration.
He said restrictions should have been imposed on those who incited violence and raised provocative slogans .
"Imposing restrictions is a failure of the BJP government's governance, administration and its management. If the government had earlier restricted those who dreamed of causing riots and made people raise frenzied slogans, then the atmosphere of harmony and peace in Sambhal would not have been spoiled," Akhilesh Yadav posted on X.
Yadav also said that strict action should be taken against officials of Sambhal administration.
"Just like BJP changes the entire cabinet, the entire administration in Sambhal from top to bottom should be suspended over allegations of negligence. Cases should be filed for murder...The BJP has been defeated," the former UP Chief Minister added.
Samajwadi Party leader Mata Prasad Pandey on said on Saturday that Sambhal District Magistrate called him over the phone and asked him not to visit the district.
"The Justice Commission is going there, media people are going there, will there be any unrest if we go there? This government is deliberately stopping us to hide all its work," Pandey, who is Leader of Opposition in state assembly, told ANI.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday asked Uttar Pradesh to ensure "harmony and peace" in Sambhal and directed the trial court there not to proceed in the suit against the Jama Masjid till the petition filed by the Masjid Committee against the survey order is listed in the High Court.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar directed that the report of the advocate commissioner, who conducted the survey of the mosque, should be kept in a sealed cover and should not be opened in the meantime.
"Peace and harmony have to be maintained. We don't want anything to happen... We have to be absolutely, totally neutral and ensure nothing wrong is done," said the bench.
Tensions in Sambhal had been simmering since the local court ordered a survey of the mosque on November 19. Opposing the court-ordered survey of the Jama Masjid people clashed with police, resulting in the deaths of four persons. The survey followed a petition in the local court claiming that the site of the mosque was previously a Harihar temple. (ANI)