Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Member of Parliament from West Delhi Parvesh Verma on Tuesday, 28 January, suggested that the largely peaceful anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protesters at Shaheen Bagh will enter the homes of Delhi’s residents, rape and kill their sisters and daughters.
Drawing a contrived comparison with the atrocities faced by Kashmiri Pandits and unspecified incidents in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, the MP said:
“This fire can reach Delhi’s homes at any time. Delhi’s residents will have to decide carefully. These people will enter your homes, pick up your sisters and daughters, rape them and kill them.”
“Tomorrow Modi won't come and save you, nor will Amit Shah. There's still time. If Delhi’s people come to their senses soon, it will be good,” he added.
‘If BJP Comes to Power, It’ll Disperse Protesters in an Hour, Not Spare Mosques Built on Govt Land’
The BJP MP also claimed that Shaheen Bagh will be cleared within an hour – and mosques built on government land razed within a month – if the BJP comes to power in Delhi.
“This is not just another election. It is an election to decide the unity of a nation. If the BJP comes to power on 11 February, you will not find a single protester within an hour. And within a month, we will not spare a single mosque built on government land.”Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, BJP MP
Verma had, in August last year, claimed that mosques and graveyards were "mushrooming" on government land in the city.
A fact-finding committee of the Delhi Minorities Commission promptly disproved his claim and recommended registration of an FIR against him for allegedly "making false claims, spreading rumours to target a particular community" and disturbing "communal harmony" in Delhi.
‘Desh Ke Gaddaron Ko...’ And Other Provocative Statements by BJP Leaders
Verma is not the first BJP leader to put anti-CAA protesters in the crosshairs in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections.
On Saturday, 25 January, addressing a gathering of BJP’s social media volunteers in the national capital, Home Minister Amit Shah urged people to vote for the saffron party so that there is “no Shaheen Bagh” in Delhi.
“Press the button of lotus so hard that the current makes the Shaheen Bagh protesters run away on the very evening of 8 February,” he said.
On Monday, Union Minister Anurag Thakur courted controversy as a video posted on Twitter showed him stoking supporters by shouting “Desh ke gaddaron ko” with the crowd replying “goli maaro sa***n ko.”
The chief electoral officer of Delhi has sought a report from the returning officer of Rithala constituency over the BJP minister’s speech.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Delhi Police lodged an FIR against BJP candidate Kapil Mishra in connection with his controversial tweet in which he likened the election in the city to an India versus Pakistan contest, sources said.
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