Soon after Congress President Sonia Gandhi demanded Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation for allegedly being unable to contain the violence in Delhi, the BJP hit back calling the demand ‘laughable’.
Invoking the horrific 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Union minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar countered by alleging that the Congress itself has blood on its hands.
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“Those whose hands are drenched with blood in massacre of Sikhs are talking of success or failure in stopping violence,” he said.
Defending Union Home Minister, Javadekar said, “The Congress is asking where was Amit Shah? He took a meeting of all the parties yesterday, in which the leaders of the AAP as well as the Congress were present.”
Javadekar added that such comments by the Congress leadership will only deteriorate the morale of the police force.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) in a meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhi had demanded immediate resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for “colossal failure” to restore normalcy.
Calling it “unfortunate comment”, Javadekar hit back at Sonia saying, “The Home Minister is continuously working with the police, raising their morale and giving them directions. Such comments and politics from the Congress will not help the morale of the police. We appeal to them to not do politics on the issue.”
In an indirect dig at the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, who also hit out at Shah on Wednesday, Javadekar said, “We believe that the police investigation will reveal the truth about who arranged the stones, who opened fire, who put vehicles ablaze and who is instigating the people for the last two months,” in a not so subtle reference to the Shaheen Bagh blockade.
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday also lashed out at the Congress interim President over her statement following the Delhi violence.
“Tension in Delhi should end. Many people are spreading violence here. At a time when Delhi is returning to peace, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s remark is untimely. When peace is required then there should be no politics”. Prasad said and added that “condemns” the statement by Sonia Gandhi.
Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi had earlier in the day lashed out at the Centre and Union Home Minister Amit Shah holding them responsible for the unprecedented violence in Northeast Delhi that has continued since Saturday.
Alleging the violence as a “planned incident”, Sonia Gandhi claimed that there is a “conspiracy behind the violence which the country witnessed during the Delhi elections as well”.
“Many BJP leaders made inciting statements creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred,” she said at a press briefing.
“A police offer has been killed and journalists have been attacked too. All of northeast Delhi is tense. Congress believes that the entire incident is because of the inefficiency of the Home Minister,” she added and demanded that Amit Shah should submit his resignation immediately.
“Congress demands that the Home Minister gives his resignation immediately. What was the Home Minister doing since last week? Why were the paramilitary forces not called in earlier when the Home Ministry saw the situation worsening?” the Congress president questioned.
Sonia Gandhi also targeted the Delhi Police for remaining mute spectators as rioters roamed the streets of Northeast Delhi attacking people and destroying public properties.
The Congress leader also held the Delhi government and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal equally responsible for not activating the administration to reach out to the people to maintain peace and harmony.
The political blame game breaks out in the aftermath of mayhem in Delhi’s northeast area where supporters and opponents of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) clashed resulting in the death of at least 27 people including a head constable and an IB staffer.