NEW DELHI: WHEN Home Minister Amit Shah referred to the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh during a public meeting at Najafgarh, some among the audience screamed “atankwadi” (terrorist) in response. This was followed by sloganeering of “Jai Sri Ram” (Glory to Lord Ram).
Shah stressed that the BJP was fighting the anti-national forces by giving examples of arrests of “seditious” students of JNU — Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid in 2016 and of Sharjeel Imam on Tuesday.
Shah gave those assembled at the rally the bait of erecting Ram Temple in Ayodhya within four months and it was welcomed with the same slogan. “Don’t you want a temple in Ayodhya?” he asked.
He also said that the Modi-led government’s agenda was “Vikas” (development) with flyovers and hospitals having been made across the country.
While he touched upon issues of national interest like Kashmir, Ayodhya, CAA, Ganga and the tasks taken up by the PM, he also referred to local issues as he promoted his party’s Najafgarh candidate Ajeet
Singh Kharkhari.
He asked the audience whether they were the vote bank of Congress and AAP like those protesting at Shaheen Bagh was and said: “Kamal ka button dabao, current Shaheen Bagh mein lagega (You press the lotus button here, they will feel the shock over at Shaheen Bagh).”
Among the constituency-specific promises made to the audience — were its development and changes in unauthorised colonies.
“In 2015, PM wrote to them (Delhi government) about regularising unauthorised colonies but there was no response... In 2019, he didn’t write to them and did a satellite survey of the colonies,” he said adding that every such colony would get water, a park, a library and street lights if BJP came to power. Shah also addressed a rally in BK Dutt Colony.