Delhi Assembly Polls: Congress accuses BJP of perpetrating 'crass & naked communalism'

The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP of "polarising" the Delhi assembly polls and said the firing incident at Jamia Milia Islamia is the live manifestation of the "spectre of hate and terror perpetrated by the NDA government" at the Centre. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the hate that assassinated Mahatma Gandhi is today mutilating the soul and the economy of India.

"The manner in which an unknown person opened fire at Jamia Millia Islamia University is a result of this hatred, the atmosphere that's been created in this country in the last one month," he told reporters. "It is unfortunate that the hatred that killed the Father of the Nation- Mahatma Gandhi, is now prevalent in the power corridors of India," Tewari said.

The senior Congress leader said what happened in Jamia Millia Islamia University a couple of hours ago, is "a live manifestation of this spectre of hate and terror which has been perpetrated across this country by the NDA-BJP government, especially since the end of the winter session of Parliament". Tewari said by looking at the kind of statements emanating out of the BJP leadership during its campaign for the Delhi assembly elections, it seems that they have even dropped the pretense of any civility.

READ| 'BJP not India': Kapil Sibal targets Amit Shah over Jamia shooting, Shaheen Bagh remark

"The way campaigning for Delhi Assembly is happening and the statements coming from the BJP, they are fuelling this atmosphere of hatred. In a concerted way, responsible people are trying to polarise this country, especially Delhi," he said. "Such crass and naked communalism being perpetrated from the top most echelons of the BJP and this government cannot but be the most eloquent testimony to the manner in which they seek to reduce the social and political discourse in this country to the basest level," he said. The Congress spokesperson hoped that a proper investigation would be conducted into the incident.

"Now is this a calibrated plan to polarise the entire country because the economy is in deep trouble and this government does not have a clue as to what it really needs to do with the direction of this nation or is it only specifically aimed at the Delhi Assembly polls," he said. "I think the jury will remain out in that for a couple of days but the fact remains that if somebody can actually in broad daylight with hundreds of people watching pull out a gun and with impunity try and go around shooting people, it is a reflection of an atmosphere which has been deliberately vitiated and nobody except the current NDA-BJP government is responsible for it," he said.

Asked about the Election Commission banning Union Minister Anurag Thakur and BJP MP Parvesh Verma for their controversial remarks, Tewari said the poll panel acted in accordance with whatever it thought was the best course of action but, he added, this was "not co-incidental" as ministers in the Union government were adopting the "stridency". "The fact is that they have shed all vestige of even any civility in terms of the attempt to completely and absolutely communalize the Delhi elections. The question which people in Delhi need to ask themselves is that are they going to be misled by this very crass and completely vitiated campaign which tries to appeal to the most wild and basic instincts of a person or would they actually want a more forward looking, progressive, future oriented discourse to take place in this country," the Congress leader asked.

READ| Jamia shooting: NCP blames Anurag Thakur for creating negative atmosphere, demands inquiry

"Thakur and Verma are only symptoms of the problem," he said. Tewari said it is only the Congress which is progressive.
 "The AAP is one big balloon which unfortunately has managed to try and convince people that they have done something for Delhi which they have not because if you look at it, the city on every benchmark has actually deteriorated over the past five years," he alleged. Tewari said the Congress was a tried-and-tested option and given a chance to serve the people of Delhi for 15 years.  "If the people of Delhi do give the Congress party a chance again, I think the Congress Party would be able to do justice to the kind of development and governance that Delhi requires," he said.

Jamia violence

On Thursday, a gun-toting man identifying himself as Gopal was arrested and charged with 'attempt to murder' by the Delhi police outside the Jamia Millia Islamia university in the national capital after he injured a student when he opened fire on protestors. Shadab, a Mass Communications student of Jamia suffered an injury in his left hand and was admitted to the Holy Family hospital. As per sources, the attacker shouted, "who wants Azadi, come I'll shoot you” and thereafter, opened fire. Moreover, the case has been transferred to Delhi Police Crime Branch.

Incidentally, the attack came three days after Finance Minister (MoS) Anurag Thakur was seen chanting inflammatory slogans in a BJP election rally in Delhi on January 28. The video shows the Union Minister shouting 'Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maron salon ko' (Shoot all traitors of the country) while campaigning for the BJP candidate for Rithala Assembly constituency - Manish Chaudhari.  

Delhi will go to polls in a single-phase on February 8 and the counting of votes will take place on February 11. The last day of filing nominations for the candidates is on January 21 and the last day to withdraw nominations is January 24. The BJP and Congress are yet to name their Chief Ministerial faces. The ruling AAP is contesting the election with Kejriwal leading them. 

READ| Delhi polls: Amit Shah says Arvind Kejriwal is the 'biggest liar he has ever seen'