‘One-sided attack on minorities’: CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat on 2020 Delhi riots
NEW DELHI: The Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), Brinda Karat, on Thursday said that the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots were a "one-sided attack" on the minority community.
“This was not a riot, but a one-sided attack. Seventy-six per cent of the deaths were from the minority community, and 80 per cent of the property damage was also theirs. Under the 751 FIRs, most arrests were not of those who orchestrated the attacks but of the victims themselves,” Karat said.
She added that compensation had not been fully provided and that the criteria for compensation were flawed.
She was addressing a public meeting in Mustafabad to "spread the message of justice and solidarity."
The meeting was organised by the Delhi unit of the CPM to mark the fifth anniversary of the communal violence. The purpose of the meeting was to express solidarity with the victims and strongly demand justice, said the party.
Speaking on the occasion, a former Rajya Sabha MP of the CPM said, “We are not here to reopen the wounds of five years ago, but to stand in solidarity with the victims and demand justice. Those responsible for this violence are sitting in the cabinet today, while the victims are still waiting for justice. The CPM stood with you then and stands with you today.”
She further highlighted her party’s efforts to get justice for the victims. “Ramsugarat’s (one of the riot victims) child was given only half the compensation, but our party fought the case, and the court ruled in our favour. Now, they have received full compensation.”
Over 50 people died, and several were injured in the communal violence that engulfed various areas of Northeast Delhi in February 2020, following a series of protests held both in favour of and against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Karat also praised the brave women who, despite the murder of their family members, did not lose courage and took care of their families.
“The CPM stands with those who are fighting to protect the Constitution of the country and demanding the repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). We demand the immediate release of students who are imprisoned in false cases.”
During the public meeting, scholarships were also provided to the children of the affected families. The meeting was also addressed by Delhi State Secretary Comrade Anurag Saxena and others.