NEW DELHI — Samajwadi Party MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq on Saturday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government’s move to prevent a party delegation from visiting Bareilly amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the ‘I Love Muhammad’ campaign.
Barq, who was part of the delegation, strongly criticised the police for blocking their visit, calling it undemocratic and unjustified.
“When the police administration and the government in Bareilly are saying that everything there is normal and there is no problem, then what sense does preventing us from going there make? We strongly oppose this and want to go there to meet the victim families and prepare an accurate report that can help them obtain justice,” Barq said.
The SP delegation, comprising MPs Iqra Hasan, Mohibbullah Nadvi, and Barq set out from the residence of senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Harendra Singh Malik earlier in the day. They were acting on the instructions of the Leader of the Opposition, Mata Prasad Pandey, to meet victims allegedly harassed by police action in Bareilly.
However, heavy police deployment blocked the team’s movement.
Speaking on the development, SP MP Awadhesh Prasad said: “Unfortunately, at the behest of the BJP government, the delegation was stopped. The government is acting in a manner that cannot be imagined, preventing the delegation from raising rightful concerns. When the delegation goes, it intends to speak truthfully, separate right from wrong, and demand justice, not to incite anything. Preventing this is a violation of democracy. In a democracy, the Opposition has as much right as the ruling party, but the BJP government is trying to suppress this democratic right.”
Earlier, SP MLA Ataur Rehman echoed similar sentiments, stating that their goal was to assess the ground reality and offer support to those wrongfully targeted.
The controversy stems from recent incidents in Bareilly where several youths were reportedly detained, beaten and harassed for slogans praising the Prophet Muhammad. While the administration maintains that the situation is under control, Opposition leaders have accused the state government of communal profiling and stifling dissent. –With inputs from IANS
