E-Paper
On last day of campaign, Shah, Thakur up the ante against Shaheen Bagh
New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah held a roadshow in west Delhi’s Hari Nagar constituency on the last day of campaigning for the February 8 assembly elections.
New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah held a roadshow in west Delhi’s Hari Nagar constituency on the last day of campaigning for the February 8 assembly elections.
Union minister Anurag Thakur also invoked Shaheen Bagh in his speech again at a public meeting at northwest Delhi’s Rohini and urged the voters to “press the (EVM) button for BJP so hard on February 8 that the protest tents at Shaheen Bagh get blown away”.
In the roadshows in Seemapuri, Hari Nagar and Madipur, Shah claimed that the “tukde-tukde gang” will be shocked on February 11, when the results of the Delhi polls are announced.
He said, “Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul (Gandhi) tell me why the security of the country should not be an electoral issue.”
Shah added, “Shaheen Bagh is the joint venture of AAP and Congress. Kejriwal and Gandhi are worried and want that Shaheen Bagh should not be discussed. Why are the people sitting in Shaheen Bagh demanding ‘Jinnah wali azadi’? Why is the tukde-tukde gang supporting them? Shame on these people.”
As supporters thronged to see Shah on the last day of campaigning, chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ rendered the air. Even though the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is not fighting the Delhi elections this time, SAD leader and the sitting MLA from Rajouri Garden, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, joined Shah and Bagga’s roadshow in Hari Nagar to extend support to the BJP campaign.
In Rohini, Thakur spoke at a lawyers’ convention, organised by a group of lawyers supporting the BJP. Thakur later also participated in a “tiranga yatra” taken out by this group.
Thakur, who was banned by the Election Commission of India (ECI) from campaigning in Delhi elections for three days after his “shoot the traitors” remarks, on Thursday continued his attacks on the AAP and Congress for their “support” of Shaheen Bagh protesters.
He accused chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of “posing as a Hanuman devotee by reciting the Hanuman Chalisa”, while his “heart beats for Shaheen Bagh”.
“Urban Maoists in Delhi hatch the conspiracy of destroying India and the likes of Gandhi and Kejriwal support these people. Those who talk of breaking the country and oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Act are sitting in Shaheen Bagh...Do you want to see Shaheen Bagh in your locality?” Thakur said.
He added, “I leave this decision on you. What is the punishment for those who talk of dividing the country? The power of ballot is stronger than that of bullet.”
