NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi plans to initiate dialogue with Muslim residents of the riot-hit neighbourhoods of northeast Delhi to dispel the “illusion over the Citizenship Amendment Act”.
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari wants to engage professionals and eminent members of the community with ‘rational thinking’ to reach out to the Muslim community.
Explaining his idea to set up a panel comprising non-political individuals from the community to interact, Tiwari said the protests over CAA across the city are part of a nefarious design to bluff Muslims into believing that the Act takes away their citizenship.
“I want to build a team of neutral and non-political people with diverse professional backgrounds. They should tell the community not to fall prey to illusion being created by some. It is quite obvious they (those leading anti-CAA protests) are doing it for political benefits but it is resulting in heavy losses,” said Tiwari.
The BJP MP believes that members of the community must come forward to bust the myth of CAA.“Progressive thinkers should initiate discussion in the community. If a group of intellectuals explain to people, they understand, which will help in exposing the conspiracy,” Tiwari said.
Echoing the same sentiments, Atif Rasheed, a member of National Commission for Minorities (NCM), also said riots just before the arrival of US President Donald Trump reeked of a devious international political conspiracy.
“Riots in the city are reported just before the arrival of US president and stopped immediately after his departure. This can’t be mere coincidence otherwise protests in the city have been going on for more than two months. The protest was already happening in Jaffrabad at a location. Why were some adamant to shift it to the main road and block the stretch?” said Rasheed, who previously led the minority wing of Delhi BJP. According to him, the riots may have been pre-planned and organised to influence US presidential elections as Trump shares a good relationship with India.
On Wednesday, Rasheed wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveying all his concerns and requested him to take appropriate action.
Suggesting a joint investigation into the communal riots that broke out on February 24 in multiple areas of northeast Delhi, by National Investigation Agency (NIA) US’s Central Investigation Agency (CIA), Rasheed said violence in the national capital may have been planned by Trump’s opponents.