A major traffic jam was seen on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway at the Ghazipur border as security was heightened due to the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi & Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are likely to visit violence-hit Sambhal on Wednesday. Even though the Uttar Pradesh administration has imposed restrictions on the arrival of outsiders in Sambhal until December 10. The Congress leaders were requested by the UP administration to reconsider their visit.
The authorities were in regular communication with Rahul Gandhi, and requested him to reconsider his visit, the District Magistrate Aunjaneya Kumar Singh stated. However, the Congress party has insisted that the delegation, including Rahul Gandhi and five other Congress MPs from Uttar Pradesh, will proceed with their visit as planned. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the newly-elected Wayanad MP, is likely to join the delegation, PTI reported Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai as informing.
District Magistrate Aunjaneya Kumar Singh while speaking to ANI, explained that the restriction was to stabilise the situation and prevent it from escalating again. He urged responsible citizens to refrain from visiting the area temporarily.
Singh assured that the administration is working to restore normalcy. He said that the markets were functioning normally and efforts were underway “to build public confidence”.
To prevent the visit, DM Sambhal wrote a letter to the officers of neighbouring districts Bulandshahr, Amroha, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddha Nagar and requested them to stop Rahul Gandhi at the border of their districts, as per ANI. He stated that due to Section 163 of Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita in the district, no person from outside will be allowed to enter.