BJP Pounces On Shaheen Bagh, AAP Is Jittery

Patriot vs anti-national debate turns election campaign nasty Critical issues like pollution, water & power take a back seat

- Gulam Jeelani

With just 10 days left before voting, politics in Delhi has turned almost as noxious as its air was about a month ago. While the Aam Aadmi Party is trying to keep the narrative confined to governance and local issues, the BJP is making every effort to raise the temperature with patriotic war cries.

Addressing a public meeting in North East Delhi’s Babarpur area on Republic Day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged the people to press the EVM button in the February 8 polls with such force that the “current” was felt in Shaheen Bagh.

Shah, who is leading BJP’s electoral campaign in Delhi, was referring to a neighborhood in South East Delhi where thousands of people — mostly women and children — have been staging a protest and blocking roads against the Citizenship Amendment Act since December 15.

“Your vote to the BJP candidate will make Delhi and the country safe and prevent thousands of incidents such as Shaheen Bagh,” Shah told the audience. The same day, he dared Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to act against the protesters. Kejriwal, who had till then avoided commenting on the protest, responded by accusing the BJP of deliberately not getting the road, blocked by the protesters, cleared.

“BJP leaders are indulging in dirty politics. They should go and talk to protesters and get the road cleared,” Kejriwal tweeted.

As polls draw near, the BJP has trained all its guns on Shaheen Bagh, it appears. The saffron party’s campaign, which gained momentum only since January 23, is trying to corner Kejriwal on Shaheen Bagh rather than questioning his governance plank.

The AAP is seeking another term in power, five years after it registered a landslide victory in the 70-member Assembly winning 67 seats.

NATIONALISM NARRATIVE