BJP to approach ECI alleging AAP 'conspiracy' on Shaheen Bagh, says Meenakshi Lekhi to LS

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi squarely put the blame on Aam Aadmi Party for the Shaheen Bagh protest and recent incidents of violence there and said her party will take the matter to the Election Commission of India amid campaigning for the Delhi Assembly elections. Speaking in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Lekhi demanded AAP include expenses on Shaheen Bagh on poll records that are submitted to the poll body.

READ | Delhi Congress Chief Accuses AAP For Shaheen Bagh Firing Incident

"There was an attempt to malign the government. Now we know that it was none other than an AAP member who was involved in firing at Shaheen Bagh. It is a conspiracy by AAP to defame the government in front of the world. This is a sponsored strategy keeping in mind the Delhi election," Meenakshi Lekhi charged, inviting chants of "shame" from fellow BJP MPs in the House.

Lekhi added, "We have asked the election commission to include such expenses in AAP's poll spending record. The deputy CM (Manish Sisodia) has himself admitted that they support Shaheen Bagh protesters."

READ | 'A Stunt': Delhi CM Kejriwal Slams BJP On Shaheen Bagh Gunman's AAP Link In First Response

Jasola shooting takes a new turn

On the day when the Union Budget was presented, a man named Kapil Gujjar was arrested by the Delhi police for opening aerial fire in the Jasola area near Shaheen Bagh last week. The case took a different turn on Tuesday as the police recovered some photos which showed that Gujjar and his father had joined AAP in 2019. Moreover, the photos also allegedly featured AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Atishi.

READ | 'BJP Gaining From Shaheen Bagh' Claims Kejriwal; Says, 'Why Can't Amit Shah Unblock Road?'

BJP on Shaheen Bagh 

The BJP has persistently held the Opposition parties – Congress and AAP – responsible for the road blockade at Shaheen Bagh. Prime Minister Modi on Monday claimed that the protests were not a coincidence, but a political experiment against national harmony, while addressing a rally in Delhi's Karkardooma area. Slamming the AAP and the Congress for politicising the protests, he claimed that the protests would have stopped after government assurances. 

Over 50 days on, women have been at the forefront of the sit-in protest, ever since mid-December, at the Shaheen Bagh area to oppose the contentious Citizenship Amended Act (CAA) and proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). They have occupied the stretch of the area. 

READ | 'Many Questions': BJP's Manoj Tiwari Unsparing As Shaheen Bagh Gunman Emerges AAP Inductee