It all started with the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act and ended with people dying in the streets of Delhi. For those of us who are still living in the woeful ignorance in your posh homes, ignoring the protest and riots happening in the capital, being silent is also a stance. The Anti CAA protest started in mid-December due to the amended citizenship law, along with it came the NPR and future possibility of NRC nationwide.
The report/confusion that disturbed numerous and public at large was that the combination of CAA, NPR and NRC was focused on one specific community.
In North East Delhi, communal clashes broke out leading to more than 180 injured and over 53 people being dead which included both Muslim and Hindu community members. It was only then the political leaders broke their silence.
The opposition party President Sonia Gandhi blamed the situation of communal riots in Delhi on Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding his resignation for lack of control. In response to her statement, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and his cabinet colleague Prakash Javadekar said that it’s dirty politics and it’s crucial to maintain peace at such sensitive times.
It was also seen that BJP leaders were not far behind in making statements which were not only instigating but also hurtful to the sentiments and beliefs of the different protesting groups.
BJP leader Kapil Sharma had threatened to come out on the roads to remove the anti-CAA protesters if the Delhi Police failed to do the task. Following his statement clashes broke out in Jafrabad and Chand Bagh in North East Delhi.
Prior during Delhi Assembly Elections, BJP leaders Parvesh Verma and Anurag Thakur offered their views and made statements that were provocative and the Election Commission punished them with intermittent restriction or banned on electioneering for these two BJP leaders.
The public and the government still remain at an impasse with the refusal of the government to take back CAA. The opposition parties have more or less enjoyed their stance as supporters of the pubic, refusing the CAA or have played the safe route by taking a neutral position on this.
The spark in Delhi violence has been because of the proactive statements made by the leaders which allowed the rioters to pin the blame of the chaos on the leaders and their instigating statements, playing the blame game between the political parties.
Though it was seen that the section of a mob protesting against CAA and causing communal distress in the Chand Bagh area was already ready in anticipation of riots. This is the same section who elects the government for betterment, the same section who evades their taxes in hopes of escaping the system.
The role of police proved to be in ineffective because of both limited personnel and lack of adequate training, with rioters seen pelting stone on police in Chand Bagh area.
The centre tried its best to control such a volatile situation, but no support from the opposition parties as well as its own leaders making controversial statements only lead to worsening of the situation in North East Delhi. The situation went so severer with the death toll rising in the anti CAA protests which turned into communal riots.
