Sravasti Dasgupta 
New Delhi: The violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, which resulted in the deaths of five people, reached parliament on Tuesday (December 3) as Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue during zero-hour.
Yadav termed the violence a “well-planned conspiracy” aimed at “shooting” at the brotherhood in the area and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of undermining the “Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb” (syncretic culture) of the country through such mosque surveys.
“Sambhal was known for its brotherhood. For years people have been living there with this brotherhood. What has happened now is a well planned conspiracy to shoot this brotherhood in Sambhal,” said Yadav.
On November 24, a controversial survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, Mughal-era mosque, resulted in the death of five Muslims, injured several police personnel and left several vehicles torched or damaged.
“The excavation that is being sought in Sambhal by the BJP and its well-wishers, this is against the country’s brotherhood and will make us lose our ganga-jamuna tehzeeb. This was a well planned conspiracy because the elections in Uttar Pradesh were to be conducted on 13th, which they changed to the 20th,” said Yadav.
Last week the Uttar Pradesh government ordered a judicial probe into the violence. The decision to constitute a judicial commission came a few hours before the Supreme Court was to hear a petition by the caretakers of the Shahi Jama Masjid against a Sambhal court’s decision to order a survey in the mosque through an advocate commissioner to look for signs of an ancient Hindu temple.
In his statement in the Lok Sabha, Yadav said that the petition calling for a survey of the mosque was allowed despite the Places of Worship Act (1991) being in place.
“We have not just been saying that this government does not believe in the Constitution. When the Places of Worship Act is there, a petition was filed against Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal. On November 19, an order for a survey of the mosque was passed even before listening to the other side on the same day. It is shocking that the Sambhal district administration and police arrived for the survey after two hours,” he said.
“The Jama Masjid committee and other stakeholders cooperated with the survey. After 2.5 hours, the district administration said that the survey was conducted and the report was to be given to the court. But on November 22, when people came to offer Friday prayers, the police placed barricades so prayers could not be offered inside. People remained calm and offered prayers. The court date was set for November 29 and the Shahi Jama Masjid Committee was preparing for the case. However, on the night of November 23, the administration said that the next day [November 24], another survey will be conducted.”
He continued: “The Masjid committee asked why another survey was needed when it was already completed, and if a second one had to be done then a court order should be obtained. But the district administration did not pay heed, and in an authoritarian manner, came to the Masjid the next day. They were again taken inside for the survey by the Masjid committee members.”
Yadav said that after the survey was conducted, people gathered seeking to know the reason for the survey and were subsequently met with police action.
“But when the people found out about 1.5 hours later they gathered there and sought to know the reason for the survey. The circle officer abused the people gathered there and lathi-charge was done, injuring them. In protest against this some people pelted stones, and the police then opened fire with their government and private weapons – of which there are video recordings – and due to which dozens were injured and 5 innocent persons who had left their homes to buy essential goods were killed. Police and administration are as responsible as those who filed the petition to disturb the peace in Sambhal. They should be suspended and a murder case should be filed against police and administration so that people can get justice and such illegal incidents do not take place in the future,” said Yadav.
Yadav’s statement during the zero-hour came after the opposition demanded a discussion on Sambhal when the House proceedings started on Tuesday. As soon as question hour started, opposition members could be heard chanting slogans demanding discussion on Sambhal. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, however, said that the matter would be taken up during the zero hour. While the opposition members staged a brief walkout, they returned to the House shortly after for the remainder of the question hour.
Not just Yadav, but Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MP E.T. Mohammed Basheer also raised the matter during the zero hour and said that the 1991 Places of Worship Act is now under threat while demanding a judicial probe into the matter.
“That important legislation (Places of Worship Act) is between life and death now. In the Sambhal Masjid case, five persons were shot dead. In such a situation, it is shocking that the peaceful coexistence in this country is becoming more and more difficult. To not preserve our secularism these kind of things are going on,” said Basheer.
Referring to the violence after the demolition of Babri Masjid, Basheer said that now, “Instead of one Babri Masjid, now more and more Babri Masjids are going to be created by these kind of wicked people.”
The issue was also raised in the Rajya Sabha by SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav during zero hour. He alleged that the survey in the Sambhal mosque was done to divert attention from the by-election earlier where voters were allegedly stopped from casting their votes.
“I and many people believe that in the elections that were held earlier in Uttar Pradesh, the police in the neighbouring districts, they did not allow anyone to cast their vote and forcibly took over the elections. To divert the attention from that, all this was done in a well-planned manner,” he said.
Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar then interrupted Yadav and said that his remarks on the elections will not go on record.