Delhi is burning, but where is Amit Shah: Shiv Sena attacks Centre over Capital violence

At least 39 people, including a head constable of Delhi Police, have died and more than 300 injured in the violence in Delhi, which raged from Sunday and escalated on Monday.

The Shiv Sena on Friday targeted Union home minister Amit Shah over the violence in north-east Delhi, which has claimed the lives of more than 35 people so far, as it questioned his absence from the Capital during the riots.

Shiv Sena on Friday targeted Union home minister Amit Shah over the violence in north-east Delhi. (ANI Photo)

At least 39 people, including a head constable of Delhi Police, have died and more than 300 injured in the violence in Delhi, which raged from Sunday and escalated on Monday. Properties worth crores of rupees have been damaged after the clashes took place between two opposing factions over the newly-amended Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

“The capital is being suffocated by violence. At such a time home minister Amit Shah is seen nowhere. This is worrying... Questions are being asked as to where Amit Shah was when Delhi was burning?” the Shiv Sena asked in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana.

The Sena said when the violence erupted in Delhi, “half of the cabinet” was in Ahmedabad to greet US President Donald Trump.

“Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi appealed for peace after three days. NSA (national security adviser) Ajit Doval was seen interacting with people on the fourth day. But the question is, even at that time, why was our home minister not seen?” it asked.

In a veiled attack on its former ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Sena also said that “hyper-nationalism” and “religious blindness” is taking the country behind by “300 years”.

The editorial said the country has got a “strong” home minister but it is surprising that he is not being seen.

“Being a home minister, Shah was distributing pamphlets on Delhi elections and he took out enough time for campaigning. But when the entire Delhi was engulfed in the fire of violence, the home minister was nowhere to be seen,” it said.

The Sena said had the riots taken place under the Congress government, the BJP would have immediately sought the resignation of the home minister. It added the opposition is weak but Congress’ president Sonia Gandhi has sought Shah’s resignation.

It also launched an attack on the Centre, saying that courts are now being punished for speaking the truth as it criticised the transfer of Delhi High Court judge Justice S Muralidhar.

Justice Murlidhar, the Sena said, was punished after he ordered a first information report (FIR) against Union minister Anurag Thakur, BJP lawmaker Parvesh Verma and party leader Kapil Mishra.

“Even the courts are being punished to speak the truth. What is wrong in what justice Murlidhar said?” the Sena asked.