Modi says Shaheen Bagh protest is a conspiracy, an experiment

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the protests against the new citizenship law in Shaheen Bagh and other areas in New Delhi are not a coincidence but an 'experiment' and a political conspiracy to destroy the country's harmony, as he accused the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress of fuelling the stir for vote bank politics.

Addressing his first rally in New Delhi ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls on February 8 at Karkardooma, the prime minister referred to his government's initiatives for the city and for the country, made promises and also put the spotlight on the ongoing protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Alleging that the protests in Shaheen Bagh--the epicentre of the stir in Delhi -- and other parts of the national capital are not 'coincidental' but 'experimental', he said Delhi's ruling AAP and the Congress were provoking people and misinforming them and asked voters to back the Bharatiya Janata Party because Delhi could not be left to anarchy.

The two parties were keeping the Constitution and tricolour in the forefront, but the aim was to 'divert attention from the real conspiracy', Modi said in his nearly one-hour-long speech in Karkardooma in East Delhi.

The people of Delhi are quiet and they are angry watching this vote bank politics, he said.

"If the strength of those plotting a conspiracy increases, then another road or lane will be blocked. We can't leave Delhi to such anarchy.

"Only people of Delhi can stop this. Every vote given to the BJP can do this," he said.

"Be it Seelampur, Jamia (Nagar) or Shaheen Bagh, for the last several days, there have been protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Are these protests coincidental? No, this is not coincidental, it is an experiment," he added.

Behind the protests, Modi said, is a political design aimed at destroying the national harmony.

"In the India of 21st century, politics of hate will not work. Only politics of development will," he added.

Referring to the protests in Shaheen Bagh, on the Delhi-Noida border, he said people commuting to and from the satellite city are facing a lot of problems.

The Shaheen Bagh protests are at the centre of the BJP poll campaign with the top party leadership raking it up in every rally.

The BJP has also accused the AAP of supporting the protests at Shaheen Bagh.

Modi said the Supreme Court and the High Court have expressed their dissatisfaction over the violence during protests and the destruction of property.

"But these people don't care about courts. They don't accept what the court says and talk about the Constitution," he said.

In December, several parts of the national capital witnessed widespread protests against the amended citizenship act.

Modi also took a swipe at the Congress, saying those who questioned the Batla House encounter in the capital are now saving those who raised 'tukde tukde' slogans.

Two Indian Mujahideen(IM) terrorists were killed and two were arrested in the encounter at Batla House in Jamia Nagar area on September 19, 2008.

A Delhi Police inspector, who was injured in the encounter, also died.

Modi also slammed the AAP and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and said they questioned the Army on surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir(POK) in 2016.

Modi listed out a series of measures taken by his government to address the issues of the national capital, touching on national issues like the revocation of special provisions of Article 370, construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya and bringing in the CAA for persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, saying these were unaddressed issues for decades but previous governments did not work on it.

"Our Opposition says Modi ji why are you working so fast, why are you taking such big decisions. But, the problems of many decades need to be solved for the country to move faster. This is what people of the country want and this is the mandate which we are following," he stated.

Seeking to reach out to traders and the common man, he also detailed steps in the budget for them, specially the relief in income tax to salaried class and various measures to boost MSME sector, skill development, exports and creating infrastructure.

"Industrial expansion and creating job opportunities are directly linked to infrastructure," he said.

Modi said his government was finding solutions to decades-old problems affecting the country and cited the regularisation of unauthorised colonies to assert that the BJP had fulfilled its promise to the people of Delhi.

The move is expected to benefit over 40 lakh residents of the national capital.

"We delivered on our promise to people of Delhi that we will regularise unauthorised colonies," Modi said.

Modi also accused Kejriwal of playing politics over health and housing by not implementing the central government's flagship schemes Ayushmaan Bharat and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

The prime minister also hit out at the ruling AAP in Delhi, accusing it of showing 'bias' towards Purvanchalis and Biharis.

"Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that buses from Patna are not allowed in Delhi. They said Purvanchalis from Bihari buy Rs 500 ticket to come to Delhi for Rs 5 lakh treatment. People from Bihar are doing their best in the country. Such hatred towards them pains us. This reflects on their mindset."

The Kejriwal-led party will continue to stall welfare schemes for people if it is voted back to power, he said.

Referring to rule of Congress and AAP in Delhi in past 20 years, the prime minister stated, "For 20 years you faced much problems and witnessed misery in Delhi. So, its necessary that BJP comes to power."

He also promised that the BJP-led Central government will provide 'pucca' houses to all poor families by 2022.

The BJP, he added, believes in positivity and the interest of the country is supreme for the party.