"When opposition is allowed, situation will improve": RJD MP Manoj Jha after police stop Rahul Gandhi's Sambhal visit

New Delhi [India], December 4 (ANI): After a Congress delegation led by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was stopped en route to violence-hit Sambhal, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha questioned the administration's resistance, asserting that allowing the opposition to visit the area could help improve the situation.
Speaking to ANI, Jha said, "When you allow opposition leaders to visit, the situation will improve. What problem do you have with this? Only those with authoritarian and dictatorial tendencies would object."
Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury reiterated the party's resolve to continue their protests.
"They will not let us go because they cannot face the truth. We will keep protesting. Are we the ones disrupting the atmosphere by being stopped? What is happening in Sambhal, and who will take responsibility for it?" she asked.
Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, and other Congress leaders were stopped by police at the Ghazipur border while attempting to travel to violence-hit Sambhal. The delegation subsequently returned to Delhi.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi expressed his willingness to relinquish his convoy and travel to Sambhal alone under police supervision. However, the authorities advised him to return after a few days, a move he described as unconstitutional and a violation of the rights of the Leader of Opposition.
"We are trying to go to Sambhal, but the police are refusing and not allowing us. As the Leader of Opposition, it is my right to visit, but they are stopping me. I am ready to go alone or under police escort, but they did not agree. They said we could return after a few days. This is against the rights of the LoP and the Constitution. We just want to visit Sambhal, meet the people, and see what happened. My constitutional right is being denied. This is the new India--a country undermining the Constitution, eroding Ambedkar's legacy. We will continue to fight," Rahul Gandhi said.
The violence in Sambhal 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 in a local court claiming the mosque's site was originally a Harihar temple. (ANI)