The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Monday called off its planned march to violence-hit Sambhal following a standoff with police outside the party office in Lucknow. Uttar Pradesh Congress Chief Ajay Rai said that the march was postponed after authorities cited restrictions on entry of outsiders in Sambhal until December 10.

Ajai Rai said that the DCP and other police officials have said that they will inform the Congress when the restrictions are lifted. He added that the day the police inform them, a delegation of the Congress party will visit Sambhal.

Reportedly, chaos erupted outside the UP Congress office when police blocked a delegation led by Ajai Rai from departing for Sambhal. Security personnel stopped Rai’s car at the office gate, leading to protests from party workers who shouted slogans and created a commotion.

Ajai Rai and other leaders sat down and staged a protest outside the party office after police prevented them from leaving. The leaders raised slogans against the authorities, accusing them of obstructing their efforts to assess the situation in Sambhal.

Earlier on Monday, the UP Congress chief said he would defy a police order and visit Sambhal, despite heavy security measures. The decision comes after UP Police issued a notice to Rai, citing potential law and order issues.

Ajai Rai said that the police have issued him a notice and asked him to postpone the visit, but the Congress will go peacefully to understand the situation and the atrocities committed by the police and the government.

The state Congress chief also criticised the administration’s decision to extend the ban on outsiders entering Sambhal until December 10, and accused the BJP-led government of extending restrictions to obstruct their fact-finding mission. He pledged to proceed with the trip, citing the need to investigate alleged police brutality and government injustice.

Violence in Sambhal has simmered since a court-ordered survey of Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid on November 19, prompted by claims it was originally a Hindu temple. The clashes between protesters and police on November 24 left four people dead.

A three-member judicial committee inspected the site on Sunday, gathering statements from residents and officials.

The farmers from Punjab have announced that they will march to the national capital this week to demand a discussion on Minimum Support Price (MSP). Following this, the police have put up barricades and issued advisory for commuters travelling from Noida to Delhi today, as the first group of farmers, led by the Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP), will begin their march today.

Reports said, the protesting farmers will start their march from the Maha Maya flyover in Noida at noon. Several photos from the spot showed massive traffic jams on the road leading to Delhi. The protestors under the banners of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), have been protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, after their attempt to march to Delhi was blocked by security forces.

Furthermore, many other farmers will join the protest from December 6, with the march proceeding daily from 9 am to 5 pm. The agitating farmers will spend the nights on the road. While addressing the media on Sunday, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said farmers have been protesting at Shambhu and Khanauri for 293 days.

The farmers’ leader criticized the BJP-led government, stating that it has not engaged in any talks with the farmers since February 18. He further accused the Centre of avoiding dialogue and reaffirmed that the farmers reject contract farming, demanding instead a legal guarantee on the MSP for crops.

Notably, a three-member panel of Union ministers – Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai – had met with farmer representatives on February 18, but the farmers rejected the Centre’s proposal to purchase pulses, maize, and cotton at the MSP for five years.

Apart from a legal guarantee on the MSP, the protesters are demanding farm loan waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in the electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and justice for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.

Another farmer leader, Guramneet Singh Mangat mentioned that when the first group of farmers begins its march towards Delhi on December 6, other farmer bodies in Kerala, Uttarakhand, and Tamil Nadu will also stage marches towards their respective state assemblies.

Hours after the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government extended the ban on the entry of outsiders into Sambhal till December 10, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that the BJP is completely bent on dictatorship and it does not believe in democracy.

“Injustice and atrocities are at their peak in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP does not believe in democracy. There is an emergency-like situation in Uttar Pradesh,” Yadav said in a release shared by the party on X.

The former chief minister said imposing a ban shows the failure of the BJP government, administration and management. Asserting that he said if the government had imposed such a ban earlier on “those who thought of causing riots and made people raise frenzied slogans”, the harmony and peace in Sambhal would not have been disturbed.

“It is noteworthy that the District Magistrate of Sambhal, in his order (IPC Section 163), has prohibited the entry of any outsider, other social organization and public representative within the boundary of Sambhal district without permission till 10.12.2024,” the statement read.

The Samajwadi Party chief slammed the UP government for stopping a 15-member delegation from entering violence-affected Sambhal, claiming that the BJP government seeks to conceal the injustices and atrocities it has perpetrated there.

He said that this government is fearful, unwilling to allow the truth to surface, and apprehensive about public outrage.

Yadav accused the government of instructing the police to confine Opposition leaders, including prominent leaders from the Samajwadi Party, to their homes.

He questioned why prominent leaders such as Mata Prasad Pandey, Lal Bihari Yadav, Shyam Lal Pal, and Ravidas Mehrotra were barred from leaving their residences when the restrictions were reportedly limited to Sambhal district.

“Has the BJP government declared a state of emergency across the entire state? The Leader of the Opposition and the State President of the Samajwadi Party couldn’t even reach the party office,” he stated.

“Such house arrest of public representatives poses a serious threat to democracy. Since the BJP took power, it has been systematically undermining democracy and the Constitution,” Yadav added.

The SP chief expressed his displeasure regarding the obstruction faced by the Samajwadi Party delegation. He suggested that similar to how the BJP frequently reshuffles its cabinet, there should be a complete overhaul of the administrative body in Sambhal in response to allegations of negligence, including accountability for any deaths that occurred.

Announcing that the Samajwadi Party would provide financial aid of Rs 5 lakh to each family of the innocent victims of the Sambhal incident, the party has demanded that the BJP government grant Rs 25 lakh in compensation to the families of those killed in the violence.

Furthermore, Yadav asserted that justice is anticipated solely from the President and the Supreme Court, insisting that those who threaten the unity and peace of the nation be held accountable.