A video shared widely on Twitter on Saturday, 29 February captured a group of people raising slogans of “desh ke gaddaro ko, goli maaro sa**** ko” (shoot the traitors) inside New Delhi’s congested Rajiv Chowk Metro Station.
Anuj Dayal, PRO, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, told The Quint that the slogans were raised at 10:52 am the same day.
“Under Delhi Metro Operation & Maintenance Act 2002, any kind of demonstration or nuisance is prohibited in Delhi metro premises. Any passenger indulging in such act is liable to be removed from the Metro premises,” a statement issued by DMRC read.
DCP Metro Vikram Porwal told The Quint that the police has detained six people. “We have detained six boys. We are questioning them,” he said.
The controversial slogan has been raised several times by many BJP leaders in the wake of the anti-CAA protests. Among those BJP leaders is Union minister Anurag Thakur who in January had egged people attending a Delhi election rally to raise the incendiary slogan – triggering a row.
A man named Vaibhav Saxena had filmed the video while he was at the metro station.
Same Slogans Raised at March Against ‘Jihadi Violence’
Several users took to Twitter to share videos of a huge rally taken through the heart of Delhi on Saturday, 29 February, with members carrying Indian flags, posters of Ambedkar and chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai, Jai Shri Ram’ etc.
Purportedly taken out by Delhi Peace Forum, several hundred people could be seen at the rally. A crew of police officers and uniformed law enforcement personnel can be seen walking ahead of the large crowd.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who is facing flak for allegedly making provocative statements before communal riots broke out in northeast Delhi, and families of some of the victims of the violence participated, PTI reported.
Mishra reportedly did not join the sloganeering or address the gathering during the 'peace march' organised by NGO Delhi Peace Forum from Jantar Mantar to Parliament Street police station.
The organisers paid tributes to Head Constable Ratan Lal and IB staffer Ankit Sharma, who were killed during the violence that has claimed 42 lives till now. Suresh Kumar said his brother Dinesh Kumar Khatik was shot when he had gone to see whether shops were open on 25 February.
"He was shot near Shiv Vihar puliya where petrol bombs were also used. I found him at GTB Hospital where he was on ventilator support. The next day he succumbed to injuries. He is survived by two children, a one-year-old and a seven-year-old," he said.
While BJP leader Mishra did not address the gathering he had earlier posted a tweet asking the people to join the protest at Jantar Mantar.He also posted videos of the march and said: "No matter how much falsehood you spread, the people know the truth".
‘Violence Coming to Your Door’
Several social media users criticised the people who raised such slogans at the metro station with some claiming that ‘violence has come to your door,’ and others stating that the “hate slogan has been normalised.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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