The Aam Aadmi Party has now accused the BJP of sponsoring the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh and the riots at the national capital in February after some of its activists joined the BJP on Sunday. The party accused the BJP of ‘creating’ the protests against the CAA at the site. It has also embarked upon a social media campaign to convey the same message.
Senior AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said at a press conference, “The inclusion of the leaders of Shaheen Bagh protest into the party by top BJP leaders has made it clear that the BJP was the creator of the anti-CAA stir there. Those who went to Shaheen Bagh to uphold democracy must also be shocked as they were being cheated.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, “The BJP won some seats from the North-East in Assembly polls because of Shaheen Bagh, creating a gap between Hindus and Muslims. In Delhi, the BJP rose from 18% to 38% due to Shaheen Bagh. As they could not win the elections they caused riots”. The social media handles of the party and its workers are also driving in the message.
Akshay Marathe, spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party, claimed that the Shaheen Bagh protests were “funded and backed” by the BJP to polarise the campaigns for the Delhi Assembly Election and that is why Shahzed Ali joined the BJP on Sunday.
The section of Shaheen Bagh protestors who insisted that the blocking of an arterial road was fundamental to their protest were funded and backed by the BJP to polarise
— Akshay Marathe (@AkshayMarathe) August 17, 2020
That's why Delhi Police allowed the protest to go on
That's why Shahzad Ali joined BJP. #BJPShaheenBaghExpose
Liberals and Islamists are, however, displeased with the AAP for claiming that the protests at Shaheen Bagh were backed by the BJP. They claimed that it was utterly preposterous to suggest that the protesters were funded and backed by the BJP. Arvind Kejriwal was also called a ‘Sanghi snake’ for the allegations.
Another user claimed that by associating the Shaheen Bagh protests with the BJP, the AAP had accused the women, children and men who had protested against the CAA by sitting on the road through the harsh winter of Delhi of working for the BJP. ‘It can’t get more messed up than this,’ he remarked.
Another user, Sania Ahmad, remarked that the AAP should be embarrassed of itself for suggesting that Safoora Zargar was and Meeran Haider is in jail because the Shaheen Bagh protests were funded by the BJP. She said that the AAP should also be ashamed for claiming that the women who were maligned as ‘500 rupay wali’ were sponsored by the BJP.
Saif Ullah Khan, who works for Shekhar Gupta’s The Print, said that the AAP’s allegations were insulting to not only the “brave women and students” but also the people who voted for them in the Delhi Assembly Elections.
Controversial Congress politician Salman Nizami accused the AAP for ‘defaming Muslims’ by insinuating that the Shaheen Bagh protests were sponsored by the BJP and accused them of being a ‘mole’ of the RSS.
AAp was also accused of being anti-Muslim due to its allegations against Shaheen Bagh.
Others said that Muslims should stop responding to AAP’s allegations and let them whine.
One Khushboo Khan remarked, “Shaheen Bagh was the movement of thousands of brave women and it is purely dedicated to them.” She asked the AAP, “With what face will you come to ask for votes next time?”
User Aafreen pledged to never vote for the AAP again. She said, “If protests were unconstitutional, AAP would have never made it to the governance.”
With its bizarre allegations against the BJP, the AAP has sorely angered liberals and Islamists on social media. Intriguingly, this is not the first time party or its supremo Arvind Kejriwal have attracted the wrath of liberals and Islamists. In April, the Delhi Chief Minister was attacked by Islamists for urging Muslims to celebrate Shab-e-baraat at home during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Islamists had also outraged against Arvind Kejriwal for reciting the Hanuman Chalisa on national television in his bid to win over Hindus ahead of the Delhi Elections.
