Rahul Gandhi denied entry into conflict-hit Saharanpur
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been denied permission to visit caste conflict-hit Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
“No permission has been given for Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the district,” said additional director general of police (law and order) Aditya Mishra, adding that the district administration has banned the visits of all political leaders.
Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP PL Punia, who was denied permission to visit the affected areas on Thursday, said they had applied for permission to Rahul’s visit on Thursday.
“We have sent a reminder to the district administration on Friday.”
The Congress vice-president was planning to visit Shabbirpur village in the district on Saturday and meet Dalit families whose houses had been burnt, besides a hospital where some injured are undergoing treatment.
Violence broke out in Shabbirpur village after a Thakur youth was killed in brick batting between members of Thakur and Dalit community over a Maharana Pratap birth anniversary parade on May 5, following which Rajputs allegedly torched over 50 hutments of Dalits.
Another person died in fresh violence that broke out there after Bahuaj Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati’s visit earlier this week. Police conducted a flag march in the Shabbirpur, Badgaon, Chandrapura and Maheshpur villages of Saharanpur district on Friday, though no untoward incident has been reported, an official said.
Principal secretary (home) Arvind Kumar told IANS the situation was under control but as a precautionary measure, the deployment of Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) platoons will remain in place till further orders.
Meanwhile, the UP government has made it clear that no politician will be allowed to visit the strife-torn countryside, specially after violence broke out soon after the visit of Mayawati. Sources said intelligence inputs suggest the situation in the villages around Shabbirpur remains tense and “something to be watchful and worried about”.