Rahul Gandhi competing with ally Samajwadi Party for minority votes, alleges BJP on stalled Sambhal visit

BJP criticizes Rahul Gandhi for unannounced visit to Sambhal, alleging it was for media attention amid political competition.

The BJP on Wednesday (December 4, 2024) flayed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for trying to visit Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh without giving prior intimation to authorities and alleged that it was an act of sheer desperation as his party is competing with ally Samajwadi Party for the votes of the minority community.

Entry of outsiders has been restricted in Sambhal district till December 31 in the wake of the November 24 violence during a protest against a court-ordered survey of a mosque.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said Gandhi did not try to visit Sambhal out of “any sympathy” but to grab media attention and get a “better photo-op” than the leaders of his party’s ally Samajwadi Party.

Mr. Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other senior Congress leaders reached the Ghazipur border in the morning where heavy police force was deployed and barricades put up to stop them from entering Sambhal.

“They were stopped at the Ghazipur border as prohibitory orders were in place in the district,” a senior police officer said.

"Rahul Gandhi had gone there without taking his partner in the INDI Alliance with him just to grab media attention. There is a conflict going on between the two parties,” Mr. Trivedi said in an apparent reference to the Congress and the Samajwadi party.

He said Mr. Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, was required to give a prior intimation to the authorities about his visit because he has been “highest level of security” after the Prime Minister. “Rahul Gandhi has Z-plus ASL security. ASL means advanced security liaison. This is the highest level of security after the Prime Minister's. Only the Home Minister and the Defence Minister have this security besides him (Mr. Gandhi),” he added.