Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed the Delhi Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, 26 February, and spoke about the recent violence in the northeast part of the city, which killed 23 and left many injured.
Kejriwal stressed on the importance of peace and religious harmony, and said that the residents of Delhi were not the perpetrators of violence, rather, it was instigated by “anti-social external elements”.
“People of Delhi do not want violence. We just want to live peacefully. All this has not been done by the ‘aam aadmi’. This has been done by some anti-social, political and external elements. Hindus and Muslims in Delhi never want to fight.”Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
‘Compensation of Rs 1 Crore For Martyr's Family’
Kejriwal, in his speech, said that Delhi government will provide a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of head constable Ratan Lal who was killed in violence in northeast Delhi. Kejriwal added that they family would be taken care of.
"As per the Delhi government's policy, we will give Rs 1 crore to head constable Ratan Lal's family," he said in the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
The chief minister said that the family was not “seeking revenge” and added that the “killing of ten more Muslims would not matter to Lal’s mother, who would still be mourning the death of her son.”
He questioned the violence and pointed out that both Muslims and Hindus had been killed. "Who benefited from this?,” Kejriwal further asked.
Kejriwal Calls For Peace
Adding that the government was doing whatever it could to ease the tensions, Kejriwal said that he had been awake the entire night. Expressing concern over fake information in circulation, he appealed to people to not spread rumours, and gave examples of incidents where a Hindu-dominated colony had come together to protect a Muslim resident.
Kejriwal said that he would appeal to Home Minister Amit Shah yet again, and added that the army should be called in and curfews imposed to maintain the peace.
Talking about the need for the normalcy to return, Kejriwal in an appeal to those causing violence, asked them to “stop, go back and live their lives in peace.” He concluded his speech by asking Delhi residents to call the police in case any untoward incident happens in their locality.
He later also tweeted a video of his speech, writing that the destruction had harmed everyone, and the only option now was to stand together, irrespective of religion, and reject the 'politics of hate'.
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