AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday visited the violence-hit Jahangirpuri where an anti-encroachment drive took place earlier in the day before the Supreme Court ordered a stay on it. Jahangirpuri saw clashes between two groups on Saturday when a religious procession was carried out in the area. Blaming the police, Owaisi said that had the cops stopped the Shobha Yatra, the violence would not have happened.
“If the police themselves don't give permission, how did the yatra take place? How did people have weapons? Had they (police) stopped them and seized weapons, we didn't have to see this day,” he told reporters at the spot.
There were also reports that the Hyderabad MP was allegedly stopped by the police from visiting Jahangirpuri. Police personnel were deployed in Jahangirpuri in large numbers as Owaisi tried to reach the violence-hit area.
He lashed out at the BJP and AAP over the anti-encroachment drive action launched by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation in the area.
Also read: BJP's war on poor Muslims, AAP's 'dubious role': AIMIM chief Owaisi on Jahangirpuri demolition drive
"The AAP is saying they are Rohingyas and Bangladeshis. I condemn it," he told reporters and termed the demolition drive an "example of vigilante justice" and slammed the BJP for it.
{{/usCountry}}"The AAP is saying they are Rohingyas and Bangladeshis. I condemn it," he told reporters and termed the demolition drive an "example of vigilante justice" and slammed the BJP for it.
{{/usCountry}}Owaisi also strongly objected to the demolition drive in the area. Describing the action as a "targeted demolition", pointing to a bulldozer razing down shops in front of a mosque, but not those in front of a temple. “Muslims are undergoing collective punishment, be scared of a poor’s curse. You demolished the shops in front of a mosque, but why not in front of temples? This is a targeted demolition, I condemn it,” he had earlier on Wednesday.
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) officials conducted a demolition drive in Jangirpuri - which has received a massive backlash. The Supreme Court had to intervene twice to stop the drive after it took cognizance of a petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind against the demolition.
Also read: "Were cops…?": Owaisi questions Delhi Police on Jahangirpuri violence
According to reports, the officials didn't receive the top court's order of status quo initially. The exercise came to a halt after the order copy finally arrived, more than an hour after the stay was ordered.
Communal clashes broke out in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area last Saturday during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in which a total of nine people were injured. At least two dozen people have been arrested in the case so far.