Rahul Gandhi, on the way to riot-hit Saharanpur, stopped at district border

New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi left for Saharanpur on Saturday morning despite being denied permission by the Uttar Pradesh government to visit the violence-hit villages of the district, where caste conflict has left two dead and scores injured. Rahul was stopped at the district's border by the police after he was denied permission to visit the strife-torn district. The Congress VP held the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh responsible for caste violence in Saharanpur district and said the clashes escalated due to its "prejudiced action". There is no town or city in Uttar Pradesh where crime is not soaring after the Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Yogi Adityanath has been sworn in, the Congress leader said. He also targetted the Centre, saying both the state and central government have "miserably failed on all fronts". Rahul made the comments after meeting persons affected by the Saharanpur violence at a roadside eatery in Sarsawa on the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border. The Congress party on Friday questioned the decision, saying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is nobody to stop Rahul Gandhi from visiting Saharanpur. The Gandhi scion had sought permission to visit Saharanpur on Saturday. "The permission has been denied based on the state policy of keeping the region out of bounds for leaders until the situation returns to normal," Additional Director General (ADG) Law and Order Aditya Mishra clarified. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: "Who is Adityanath to stop Rahul Gandhi from visiting the Dalit brothers? Doesn't it show the anti-Dalit mindset of the BJP government? This kind of mindest is deplorable." "Congress and Rahul Gandhi will continue to speak against injustice. Nothing will be able to stop us," he added. Sources said that as the violence broke out soon after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati's visit, the Chief Minister's Office asked district officials not to grant any permission to political leaders to visit the area in future. Newly-appointed SSP of Saharanpur Babloo Kumar also said that in case the Congress leader still tried to come to Saharanpur, he would be prevented from doing so at the air strip itself. Earlier, former union minister Kumari Shailja and senior Congress leader P.L. Punia were denied permission to visit Saharanpur.