Row after SP leaders denied Sambhal entry

The Samajwadi Party targeted the Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday after several of its leaders, including leader of the Opposition in assembly Mata Prasad Pandey, were stopped from entering Sambhal district, where four people were killed in violence during protests against a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque on November 24.

The district administration, meanwhile, extended the ban on the entry of outsiders and public representatives till December 10 to maintain "peace and order". The ban initially imposed soon after the violence was supposed to end on Saturday.

"Imposing a ban is the failure of the BJP government's governance, administration and government management," SP chief Akhilesh Yadav wrote on X in Hindi. "Had the government imposed such a ban earlier on those who dreamed of causing riots and made people raise frenzied slogans, the atmosphere of harmony and peace in Sambhal would not have been spoiled..."

Later, the SP announced that it would provide ₹5 lakh each to the family of the four people who died in the Sambhal violence. It also demanded that the state government give ₹25 lakh each to the families.