Defending the survey at Sambhal’s Shahi Jama Masjid, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said in the state assembly that the atmosphere deteriorated after two days of the court-ordered exercise due to the nature of speeches given during Friday prayers.

He said that Baburnama, memoirs of the founder of the Mughal Empire Babur, also mentions that the structure was built by demolishing the Harihar temple.

Four people were killed after violence erupted in Sambhal last month during protests against the survey of the mosque which was ordered by a court after a petition claimed that it was the site of the Harihar temple and sought permission to worship there.

“They (opposition) are trying to cover up the truth, but no one can hide the sun, moon and truth for long. The truth will soon come out,” Adityanath said while responding to the demand of Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey and other SP members for a discussion on the recent violence in Sambhal and Bahraich along with similar incidents.

Adityanath rejected suggestions that chants of Jai Sri Ram and Hindu religious processions passing from Muslim-dominated areas provoked communal tension.

Where is it written in the Constitution that a Hindu procession cannot be taken out in a Muslim-dominated area, the chief minister asked.

“When you stop it, the reaction from the Hindu side also comes that we will also not let it go. I am surprised by these things that the procession will not be allowed in front of the mosque. Does this road belong to anyone? It is a public road, how can you stop anyone?

“There was a traditional procession in Bahraich too and all arrangements were completed to take that traditional procession forward. But to say that provocative slogans were being raised. The slogan of Jai Shri Ram is not provocative, it is the slogan of our devotion, a symbol of our faith.

“Tomorrow, if I tell you that we do not like the slogan of Allahu Akbar, will you like it? Our heritage is so vast and ancient.... I can spend my whole life with the salutations of Jai Shri Ram, Har Har Mahadev and Radhe Radhe. We do not need any other salutation,” he said.

Earlier in the House, SP MLA from Sambhal Iqbal Mahmood said that an application was given in a court requesting for the survey of Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal and the survey order was sent within two hours on the same day.

The SP member said, “Jama Masjid management cooperated fully in the survey. But, as soon as those people left, they started shouting Jai Shri Ram slogans, due to which not only SP but the whole of Sambhal became angry”.

“On the night of (November) 23rd, the officials said that the survey will be done again on the 24th.  After this, people said what is the need for a second survey but they did not listen and an order was given from Lucknow that the survey has to be done on the 24th itself,” the MLA claimed.

Iqbal Mahmood also claimed that the order for a second survey was given because the bypoll result of the Kundarki assembly bye-election came on November 23.

The SP member also said that people again raised Jai Shri Ram slogans and when the crowd gathered, firing started and five people died, in which one person’s post-mortem “was not done and he was forcibly buried”.

Leader of Congress Legislature Party Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ said that this is not just a political issue, but a matter of the safety of 25 crore people of UP.

No government wants communal riots and the state to burn but it is unfortunate that due to these two incidents, the atmosphere of the state is not good today, she said.

Responding to members, Adityanath said that on the instructions of the court, the DM and SP conducted the survey in a peaceful manner.

“The survey work was going on in Sambhal on November 19, November 21 and November 24. There was no disturbance of peace during the first two days during the survey.

“The atmosphere deteriorated after the kind of speeches given during the Friday prayers. The situation after that is in front of everyone,” he said.

He said Baburnama says that the structure was built by demolishing the Harihar temple. “The Purana also says that the tenth incarnation of Shri Hari Vishnu will be in Sambhal,” the CM said,

He asserted that the administration is acting in a just manner in the incidents of Bahraich and Sambhal.

“A judicial commission has been formed in the Sambhal incident. Its members are visiting regularly. They will take statements from people, listen to everyone and bring out the truth, but unnecessary stone pelting and firing from illegal weapons will not restore peace there,” Adityanath said.

Citing NCRB data, Chief Minister Adityanath said that since 2017, when his government was first formed, there has been a 97 per cent to 99 per cent reduction in communal riots in the state.

There have been no riots in UP since 2017, whereas from 2012 to 2017 (SP tenure), there were 815 communal riots in the state and 192 people died, he said.

Between 2007 and 2011, there were 616 communal incidents, in which 121 people died.

Adityanath said, “How long will you mislead the public by hiding the facts? A survey was being conducted in Sambhal on the orders of the honourable court. Chanting Jai Shri Ram is not a communal act. Ram is present in everything we do. If chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ offends anyone, it is their intent that should be questioned.”

In Bahraich, a 22-year-old man was killed in communal violence during a Durga idol immersion procession in October.