Union Home Minister and BJP President Amit Shah on Thursday hit out at the Congress blaming it of spreading rumours over the Citizenship Amendment Act and instigating violence in the national capital.
“Recently, opposition politicians under the leadership of Congress spread rumours about the Citizenship Amendment Act. People came out on the roads and disturbed the peace and calm of Delhi. These politicians disturbed the peace of Delhi,” Shah said while addressing a public rally in Delhi.
He was indirectly referring to Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi’s sit-in at India Gate against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act.
“Citizenship Amendment Act was discussed in the parliament. Nobody (the opposition leaders) said anything… Once they were out (of parliament), they started misleading people,” he said.
The Home Minister further called upon the people of Delhi to punish the “tukde-tukde gang” led by the Congress for the violence in the city.
“I want to say that it’s time to punish the tukde-tukde gang led by Congress. They are to be blamed for the violence in the city. People in Delhi should punish them,” he said.
Amit Shah also raked up the 1984 anti-Sikh riots allegedly spearheaded by senior Congress leaders in the aftermath of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination. The issue still finds resonance in Delhi, particularly amid a large chunk of Sikh voters.
“Congress could never deliver justice to the victims. The moment the Modi government came to power, an SIT was formed. Today the rioters are in jail,” Shah said.
Training guns on Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, the Home Minister accused it of stealing the credits for the developmental works done by the Central Government.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has forced everyone to follow the work culture. However, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has done something entirely new. He thought why work. Why allot budgets and lay foundation stones for development projects? Work is already being done, just put your name on it,” Shah jibed.
“Arvind Kejriwal had promised he would not take a bungalow or a car and several other such things, but he took them all. His government has not completed 80 per cent of the welfare work that he promised in 2015,” he added.
Shortly after, the AAP reacted in a tweet elaborating on the developmental works done by the government in Delhi.
● 24×7 subsidised electricity
● Free Water
● Free & Quality Healthcare
● World-class Govt Schools
● 1.4 Lakh CCTVs
● Free Wifi
● Free Travel for women
● Door Step Deliveryयह सारे काम @ArvindKejriwal सरकार ने कराए हैं और @AmitShah चुनाव से ठीक पहले ठप्पा लगाने आए है। https://t.co/a64mOKEjjb
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) December 26, 2019
Shah’s attack on the Congress and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party comes just months ahead of the crucial Delhi Assembly election next year.
Amit Shah was addressing a crowd on the occasion of laying the foundation stone of integrated development of East Delhi hub, a dream project of BJP’s East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir. While heaping praise on the cricketer-turned-politician, Shah appealed to people to vote for “equally hard-working” MLAs as well, when Delhi goes to polls early next year.
BJP hopes to taste power in the national capital where it has been out of power for nearly two decades. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off the party’s poll campaign at Ramlila Ground where the issue of regularising illegal colonies in Delhi was projected as an ‘achievement’ of the BJP.
Meanwhile, Delhi has witnessed massive violent protests against the CAA, where protesting students of Jamia Millia Islamia University and cops clashed with each other on the streets of the national capital.
Protests erupted across the city with the Congress Party holding a “satyagraha” at Raj Ghat as well.
In a first, telecommunication companies were asked to suspend internet, voice and call services in several areas of Delhi. At least 21 metro stations were closed.
A slew of Opposition leaders ~ including Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Nilotpal Basu, Brinda Karat, Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dikshit ~ activists, including Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan and Umar Khalid, were among many who were detained near the Red Fort and Mandi House ~ the sites of two planned protests against the “unconstitutional” CAA and against police crackdown on students.
Thousands of protesters were detained and dragged into buses by police for defying Section 144 of the CrPC.
Over 30 people have died in protests, that turned violent in several areas across the country, since the Citizenship Amendment Bill was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind on December 11 and became a law.
The amended law seeks to provide citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and have arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.