On Tuesday evening, a gun-wielding man had entered Shaheen Bagh ‘protest’ site in New Delhi and had threatened the ‘protestors’, reportedly demanding them to vacate the area. The protestors had claimed that the men had allegedly warned them to “clear the road or people will die”.
#WATCH A person who had gone to Shaheen Bagh to talk to protestors brandished a licensed pistol at the protest site, today. More details awaited. (Source – Delhi Police) pic.twitter.com/kHFbUnt8KG
— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2020
As soon as the video went viral on social media, the ‘liberal-secular’ media was quick to jump to blame BJP for the incident. The so-called media personalities accused BJP of creating a frenzied situation across the country over the issue, which according to them resulted in the dangerous incident that occurred at Shaheen Bagh on Tuesday.
The ‘journalists’ pointed their fingers at MoS Finance Anurag Thakur and held him for responsible for the incident after a person brandished his gun at the Shaheen Bagh protests. The media ecosystem was pinning the blame on the minister after he was allegedly seen asking people to shoot down the traitors who betray the country.
According to the media ecosystem, the incident at Shaheen Bagh had occurred after MoS Finance had provoked the crowd in Delhi during the rally. The Lutyens media indirectly hinted that the person who threatened protestors at the Shaheen Bagh protest site was inspired by Minister’s words while insinuating that the accused was somehow related to the BJP.
This happened a day after India’s junior finance minister @ianuragthakur gave a call to shoot traitors (by chanting: desh ke gaddaro ko, goli maaro saalo ko) at one of his political rallies in New Delhi. https://t.co/FCscTTFeyR
— Somesh Jha (@someshjha7) January 28, 2020
Controversial journalist Sreenivasan Jain of NDTV claimed that the incident happened a day after the minister led chants of ‘goli maaro saalon ko’.
A minister leads chants of ‘goli maaro saalon ko’. The next day, men with guns turn up at Shaheen Bagh. Hate speech has consequences. https://t.co/DmsxJH1hnq
— Sreenivasan Jain (@SreenivasanJain) January 28, 2020
Soon, trolls followed their leaders as they not only blamed the BJP, but also Arnab Goswami for the incident.
This is a direct result of the speeches of BJP leaders and the propaganda and venom on TV by Arnab Goswami. They do not deserve the same civility that is to be given to any other upstanding citizen of society. https://t.co/cGGUiti2Un
— ??♂️ against CAA + NRC (@FarziVakeel) January 29, 2020
However, with a police investigation underway, reports soon emerged saying that the pistol has been seized and it is registered in the name of one Mohammad Luqman, a property dealer based in the same area.
A report by Times Now claims that the man who brandished the gun is linked to AAP. The report says that a delegation of local leaders and AAP councillors had reportedly visited the area and Luqman, who carried a gun, was a part of the delegation. During an argument with protestors over road blockage, the gun was snatched by one person and was brandished to threaten the people gathered. The AAP, reportedly, has denied any link with the incident.
Twist to the Shaheen Bagh protest. A man with a gun was apprehended at the protest site. The gunman has reportedly been found linked to an AAP leader & the leader has denied the link.
TIMES NOW’s Priyank Tripathi with details. | #GunGoliPolitics pic.twitter.com/WO2OaPaeSw
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 29, 2020
Shaheen Bagh protests, which were initially passed off as an organic protest in a bid to ‘save the constitution’ began to turn into a blatantly communal event. It was earlier reported that the Muslim mobs had shouted pro-Pakistan and Hinduphobic slogans like “Jinnah Wali Azadi”, demanding another partition of the country.
Read: Into the Islamist’s mind: The role of educated Muslims in Sharjeel Imam’s ‘Plan of Action’
The expose of videos of Sharjeel Imam, the chief co-ordinator of Shaheen Bagh protests, in which he calls for secessionist agenda and urges Muslims to cut North-east from the rest of the country had further exposed the real intentions behind the anti-CAA protests.
“If 5 lakhs Muslims are organised then we can cut the North-east from rest of India. If we cannot do permanently, at least we can cut North-east from India for months. Our responsibility is to cut the Assam from India then Govt will hear our voice. If we have to help the Assam then we will have to cut the Assam from rest of India,” said Sharjeel Imam while instigating Muslims in Shaheen Bagh.
