E-Paper
Sisodia hits back at Amit Shah, says Shaheen Bagh protesting law introduced by BJP
New Delhi:
A day after union home minister Amit Shah criticised him for expressing solidarity with Shaheen Bagh protesters, Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia hit back, saying law and order in the national capital was the union government’s responsibility and the locals were protesting a law introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government.
Sisodia said it was the union minister who should be concerned about the protests across the city. “But he is busy finding faults with CCTVs, WiFi hotspots and government schools in Delhi,” Sisodia said.
Shah had on Thursday addressed three rallies and public gatherings in West Delhi, in which he had accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi of misleading people with their schemes on CCTV and WiFi hotspots. He had said the Delhi government did not invest on construction of new schools in the city.
“Union Minister Amit Shah had said his phone ran out of battery while looking out for a WiFi hotspot in Delhi. On this, I would like to tell him that in Delhi, we have scheme on power subsidy too. He can charge his phone as much as he wants to with the power we provide for free. Delhi has functional WiFi hotspots and more than two lakh CCTV cameras installed in public places,” Sisodia said.
Power bills in Delhi are 100% subsidised for consumption up to 200 units per month.
Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s education minister, said, “For schools, I urge the union minister to organise a rally or public gathering in Khichripur, which comes under my constitution in Patparganj. I will show him what a School of Excellence looks like. However, I am ready to accompany him to government schools in any part of Delhi. He just has to let me know.”
Asked about Shah’s comments on the Shaheen Bagh protests, Sisodia said, “Delhi’s law and order is the responsibility of the union government and Amit Shah is the home minister. If there’s a law and order situation anywhere in the country, it is his responsibility to resolve that. People in Shaheen Bagh are protesting against a law introduced by the BJP government. He (Shah) should be concerned about the protests across Delhi.”
On Thursday, hours after Sisodia said he stood by the protesters of Shaheen Bagh, Shah responded, “His (Kejriwal’s) deputy (Manish) says he is standing with the protesters of Shaheen Bagh. Their government instigated riots here. Do you want a government that works for the people or one that instigate riots?”