Police set up barricades outside the Uttar Pradesh Congress office and the residences of key party leaders, including Ajay Rai, ahead of their planned visit to violence-hit Sambhal, a party spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
Vikas Srivastava, the spokesperson, stated that the barricades were placed on Sunday night. The Congress delegation had planned to visit Sambhal on Monday.
Rai said, "We had decided to go to Sambhal on December 2 since the government’s ban on the entry of public representatives was set to end on November 30. However, the government suddenly extended the ban until December 10, clearly aiming to conceal its shortcomings."
Rai spent the night at the Congress office with several party workers.
He added, "If we are prevented from visiting, we will protest peacefully in a Gandhian manner, as we are followers of Mahatma Gandhi."
Violence broke out in Sambhal on November 24 during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, which left four dead and many injured. The survey was ordered following a petition that claimed a Harihar temple once stood at the mosque's location.
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