Delhi violence: The Centre on Tuesday said that violence in Delhi which has claimed seven lives, including a head constable, so far, was perpetrated “intentionally” and the people behind it were trying to defame the Indian government. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said indulging in arson and rioting in the name of protests was wrong and strict action will be taken against those responsible for it.
READ MORE: Delhi Violence, CAA-NRC Protest Updates
On Monday, the minister had said that the violence in Delhi was orchestrated with an eye on US President Donald Trump’s visit to India.
Anti-CAA protests have been going on in Delhi ever since the Citizenship Amendment Act was cleared by both houses of Parliament. However, these protests were largely restricted to Shaheen Bagh and Jamia in Delhi. On Sunday though, protests over CAA erupted in several parts of northeast Delhi with incidents of rioting, stone-pelting and arson being reported from the Jaffrabad, Maujpur and some adjoining areas the capital. By Monday, the protest intensified and soon turned ugly. So far, seven people have lost their lives including a head constable identified as Ratan Lal in the violent protests.
Today, the minister justified why his government did not act in time and why it allowed the protests to go on for such a long time in the national capital. Reddy said that the Centre had been patient as it knew people would understand that there was nothing in the law that was against 130 crore Indians. He said the law was neither against Pakistan nor Bangladesh or even against any religion or region.
“We are taking measures with caution and exercising restraint. They are our own people. After being provoked by someone they are protesting and that’s why we have been patient for the past several days,” PTI quoted reddy as saying. When asked about the protests in Shaheen Bagh, the union minister said that now this matter was before the Supreme Court and it cannot be cleared now.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah today chaired a high-level meeting with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Lt Governor Anil Baijal, Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, Congress leader Subhash Chopra, and BJP MP Manoj Tiwari. After meeting Shah, Kejriwal spoke to reporters and said: “Everyone wants that the violence be stopped. The Home Minister had called a meeting today, it was a positive one. It was decided that all the political parties will ensure that peace returns to our city.”