SP delegation leaves for Bareilly over 'I Love Muhammad' row; heavy police deployment stops leaders

New Delhi, Oct 4 (IANS) A delegation from the Samajwadi Party (SP), including MPs Iqra Hasan and Mohibbullah Nadvi, on Saturday left from the residence of senior SP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Harendra Singh Malik en route to trouble-torn Bareilly. However, the delegation was stopped before reaching its destination by a heavy police deployment.

The visit comes in the wake of recent tensions in Bareilly over the controversial ‘I Love Muhammad’ slogan row.

Party leaders intend to meet those affected by the incident and assess the ground situation. Ziaur Rahman Barq, another prominent SP MP, was scheduled to join the delegation from Sambhal.

However, the delegation was stopped before reaching its destination by a heavy police deployment.

SP MLA Ataur Rahman, who was also part of the visiting team, alleged that the administration was trying to suppress democratic outreach.

On being stopped from travelling to Bareilly over the 'I Love Muhammad' row and the violence that had taken place over it, Samajwadi Party MP Hasan said, "The ruling power is involved. Our effort was to reach there, listen to the people’s suffering, and raise their voice, which is the duty of a public representative, and to help them. But here, we were stopped."

MP Harendra Singh Malik added, "We just wanted to travel within our own country, to go to our own districts, and yet we are being treated in this manner. If the government treated terrorists this way, the Pulwama and Pahalgam attacks would not have occurred. They should have been stopped."

SP MP Mohibbullah Nadvi also said, "In Bareilly, the law and the Constitution are being torn apart, and people there are being persecuted. To witness this, and on the party president’s instructions, our entire delegation is leaving from here. We will continue to fight in the capital. The Samajwadi Party is confident we will win this fight..."

SP MLA Ataur Rahman said: "We were going to Bareilly on Mata Prasad Pandey's instructions to meet the victims of the incident there so that people can get justice, but police from many stations have been deployed here to prevent us from going there."

Leader of Opposition in UP Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey stated: "All the officials there (in Bareilly), I had earlier appointed as SPs. When we meet these officials, we can talk to people and get accurate information... By going there ourselves, we can understand the people and address any issues."

Earlier in the day, police personnel were deployed outside the residence of Mata Prasad Pandey, in Lucknow.

The SP’s move comes amid growing criticism of the UP government’s handling of communal tensions in Bareilly, where several youths have reportedly been detained or questioned for slogans supporting the Prophet Muhammad. The issue has sparked a political row, with Opposition parties accusing the administration of religious profiling and heavy-handedness.

Harendra Singh Malik, from whose residence the delegation began its journey, emphasised that their visit was purely to ensure peace and justice.

As of now, the situation in Bareilly remains tense, with large numbers of police personnel stationed in sensitive areas. The SP delegation has urged the government to allow peaceful political engagement and to ensure transparency in police action.

--IANS

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