On Sunday, several residents of Shaheen Bagh joined the BJP’s Delhi unit. This included Shahzad Ali, Mehreen and Tabassum Hussain. Shahzad Ali, who was part of the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests in Shaheen Bagh, claims that him joining the BJP will help resolve the controversy around the Act through dialogue with the ruling party.
In the Shaheen Bagh neighbourhood, which has been the centre of the iconic sit-in protests against the CAA for three months since December last year, the news was taken with a generous pinch of salt.
According to the statement released by the BJP, while joining the party, Shahzad Ali accused the Congress and other opposition political parties of using Muslims for their political benefit. He claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “done justice” for all castes and religions. “I have joined BJP to prove wrong those in our community who think BJP is our enemy. We’ll sit together with them over CAA concerns,” he said.
On Sunday, a day after Ali joined the BJP, RTI activist Saket Gokhale tweeted saying Ali was “never a ‘Shaheen Bagh activist’”. He said, “In Feb 2019, Rashtriya Ulama Council had appointed Shahzad Ali as its Secretary for Delhi. Rashtriya Ulama Council is described by critics as a pro-BJP group.” He also attached an official appointment letter with the tweet.
Asma Abdullah, a resident of Shaheen Bagh and a regular at the Shaheen Bagh anti-CAA protest says that she saw the news about anti-CAA protesters joining the BJP on Twitter. “I saw him [Ali] a few times at the back of the protest site. If the joining of Shahzad Ali ensures that there is a dialogue on the CAA…I think that’s completely a myth. We kept protesting for more than a hundred days, no BJP politician listened to us or had any dialogue with us. I don’t think the joining of one Shahzad Ali will ensure dialogue on CAA.”