Tag: Haji Yunus

Delhi Riots: Death Toll Rises to 38; Sonia Gandhi Calls Centre, Delhi Govt ‘Mute Spectators’

She also reiterated the party’s demand for the removal of Union home minister Amit Shah.

New Delhi: At least 38 people have now lost their lives in violence that has broken out parts of the national capital and over 200 have been injured. The Delhi Police has filed 18 FIRs and arrested 106 people in connection with the violence.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, along with former prime minister Manmohan Singh, and other party leaders, submitted a memorandum to President Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday. After submitting the memorandum, Sonia Gandhi told reporters that the Centre and Delhi government were “mute spectators” to the violence.

“We handed over the demands to President Kovind in the memorandum. The Centre and Delhi government were mute spectators to the violence which has claimed several lives. Businesses have also fallen prey to looting. President said he will take cognisance of our demands; we feel fairly satisfied,” she said. She also reiterated the party’s demand for the removal of Union home minister Amit Shah.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh told reporters that “Violence is a matter of national shame.”

“We called upon President to suggest to him that what has happened in the last four days in Delhi is a matter of great concern and a matter of national shame in which at least 34 people have died and 200 people are injured, it is a reflection of the total failure of the central government,” Singh said.

The US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs urged “all parties to maintain peace”.

The national capital has been in the throes of violence since Sunday evening after BJP leader Kapil Mishra demanded that anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protesters clear the sit-in demonstrations in Jaffrabad and Chandbagh. Over 150 people have been injured and several violence-hit areas have also been victim to arson and vandalism.

Forty-eight hours after violence broke out in parts of the national capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally broke his silence on the Delhi riots on Wednesday.

Reports also said that the body of a man who works with the Intelligence Bureau was found in a drain in North East Delhi’s Chandbagh.

In two tweets on Wednesday, Modi said he had reviewed the situation and that the security agencies were doing their job. He did not acknowledge the numerous reports and criticism – including from the Supreme Court and Delhi high court – that the police had not been doing their job.

The prime minister also made broad claims about peace and harmony, without mentioning that several leaders from his party, the BJP, have been accused of instigating Hindutva mobs.

It is not unusual for the prime minister to take his time with making public remarks when minorities are at the receiving end of violence. When Kashmiris were being targeted after the Pulwama terrorist attack, Modi waited for at least 40 such cases to be reported before saying anything at all.

The US and Russia on Wednesday also issued advisories to their citizens, in view of the continued violence in Delhi, asking them to exercise caution. The US Embassy in India issued a security alert, advising American citizens to monitor local media outlets for updates on demonstrations, road and metro closures, and possible curfews and avoid locations where heavy traffic or road closures or protests are expected.

Russia, too, has asked its citizens to be careful, avoid large gatherings and violence-hit areas — Jaffrabad, Maujpur and Bhajanpura.

After the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed grave concern over recent incidents of violence in Delhi, an MEA spokesperson, in a statement on Thursday, said, “We have seen comments made by USCIRF, sections of the media and a few individuals regarding recent incidents of violence in Delhi. These are factually inaccurate and misleading, and appear to be aimed at politicising the issue. Our law enforcement agencies are working on the ground to prevent violence and ensure restoration of confidence and normalcy. Senior representatives of the Government have been involved in that process. The Prime Minister has publicly appealed for peace and brotherhood. We would urge that irresponsible comments are not made at this sensitive time.”

On Wednesday evening, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, along with deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and AAP leader Gopal Rai, visited riot-affected Shiv Vihar in Northeast Delhi.

His visit came hours after the Delhi Police on Wednesday morning used water cannons to disperse students from Jawaharlal Nehru University, members of the Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) and Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) who had gathered outside Kejriwal’s residence.

The students, who had assembled outside Kejriwal’s house around midnight, were demanding a meeting with the chief minister and wanted to submit a charter of demands over the violence in the capital to him. The students later alleged that they were detained by the police and taken to nearby Civil Lines police station.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court pulled up the Delhi Police for its handling of the ongoing violence in the capital while deferring the hearing on a plea to shift the Shaheen Bagh protesters. Justice K.M. Joseph while hearing the petition also slammed the “lack of professionalism” in the police force.

A notification effecting the transfer of Delhi high court Justice S. Muralidhar to the Punjab and Haryana high court came late in the evening on Wednesday, hours after the judge expressed “anguish” over the Delhi Police’s failure to register FIRs against BJP leaders for hate speeches.

Also read: Delhi Riots: AAP Criticised for Focusing on Optics; Women’s Delegation Meets Kejriwal

Kejriwal on Wednesday also said that despite all efforts, the police had been unable to control the situation. “Army (should) be called in and curfew imposed in rest of affected areas immediately,” the AAP chief tweeted and said that he would also write to home minister Amit Shah in this regard.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, however, told NDTV that there were enough forces on the ground and no one needed to fear. “People were doubting the capabilities and intentions of Delhi Police. This needs to addressed. People need to trust the man in uniform,” Doval said.

Doval, who visited areas affected by the violence, like Seelampur, Jaffrabad, Maujpur and Gokulpuri Chowk to review the law and order situation and meet police officials, late in the night on Tuesday, February 25, said, “no law-abiding citizen would be harmed anyway by anyone”.

“A few criminals do things like this (spread violence)…Police are here and doing their work… Inshallah yahan par bilkul aman hoga. (God willing, there will be complete peace here),” Doval said speaking to reporters.

He later briefed home minister Amit Shah on the issue.

The Delhi high court has directed the police to respond by 12:30 pm on Wednesday to a plea seeking the lodging of FIRs and arrests of those involved in the violence that occurred in parts of Delhi.

Also read: Delhi Riots: Give Injured Muslims Safe Passage, HC Directs Police in Late Night Order

A bench of Justices S. Muralidhar and Talwant Singh said a senior-level police officer, who is aware of the facts, should be present before it at 12:30 pm with instructions. The court said that the police did not need its direction to take action in relation to the violence and police should take suo motu action as “this is very important”.

The matter was mentioned for urgent hearing before Justice Muralidhar’s bench by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for human rights activist Harsh Mander.

Hours before, in an urgent sitting that ended at 1:42 am on Wednesday morning, the Delhi high court had ordered the Delhi Police to immediately escort injured persons from Mustafabad to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital for treatment. The order, by a bench comprising of Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice A.J. Bhambhan, directed the police to ensure the safe passage of the injured to hospitals after hospital authorities had earlier in the evening expressed their predicament after they failed to secure the support of the police for the injured patients.

In view of the ensuing violence, private and government schools in violence-affected areas will also be closed on Wednesday, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia announced on Tuesday. CBSE has also postponed the Class 10 and Class 12 exams in north east Delhi scheduled for Wednesday.

Student bodies have also said that they will stage a protest march from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament on March 3 against the Citizenship Amendment Act and to condemn the communal violence in northeast Delhi.

The Young India Coordination Committee, comprising of student bodies, also urged the Union home minister Amit Shah and the Delhi Police to take action to control the violence.

They also demanded the arrest of BJP leader Kapil Mishra for inciting violence. Mishra, who led a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally at the Maujpur Chowk on Sunday, has been accused of delivering a “provocative” speech at the event.

(With inputs from PTI)

You can read The Wire‘s full coverage of the Delhi riots here.

Delhi Riots: Mosques and Huts Burned, Children Attacked, at Least 2 Dead in Mustafabad

At least two mosques in the northeasrt Delhi neighbourhood have been vandalised and attacked with stones, reportedly by a Hindutva mob. Elsewhere in the area, masked men shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ torched Muslim huts.

New Delhi: The Mustafabad area in north east Delhi also saw violence on Tuesday evening as a Hindutva mob attacked the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest site, injuring several people including children.

According to residents, a mob of around 50 men gathered in the area and began to pelt stones.

At least two mosques in the area have been vandalised and attacked with stones, by the same mob.

Residents told The Wire that men armed with rods and pistols gathered outside the mosques in the area and attacked them. At the time, several children were inside the mosque and were attacked. 

The locals rescued several children from the mosque and some have severe injuries. The Wire saw a 15-year-old boy with severe head and leg injuries being rescued from inside the mosque. He was unable to walk and claimed that he had been attacked by rods. 

Also read: Ground Report: In Riot City, Hindutva Mobs Rage With Impunity as Police Watch in Silence

According to locals, around 20 people have been injured in the violence at Mustafabad. Several people have received gunshot wounds. At least one person has died and was brought dead to a local clinic while two others were brought injured. The Delhi high court was told that a second person has also died in Mustafabad.

The Wire has visuals of the dead and the injured at the clinic, but is refraining from publishing them at this time.

In the area, several houses and shops have been set on fire and continue to be ablaze. 

AAP member Amit Mishra tweeted a video of violence from Mustafabad, which was later retweeted by the region’s AAP MLA Haji Yunus.

Yunus posted several tweets asking for help, both medical and in containing the escalating violence on the day.

Late into the evening of February 25, armed and masked men came and set fire to jhuggis (slum dwellings) and vehicles in a different part of Mustafabad, while Delhi police looked on. Near a group of burning homes, other residents of the slum – who identified themselves as Hindus from the Mahavat jaat – told the Wire that the burning  jhuggis belonged to Muslims who had fled the area the previous day. They said the fires were started by men shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, and others said the men were members of the Bajrang Dal.

“Keh rehe the tum bolte raho aur bachte raho – tum Jai Shri Ram nahi bologe tho mare jaoge,” (“They said, say this and save yourselves – if you don’t say Jai Shriu Ram you will be killed”) a resident said, in recorded footage.

Further down the road, on the northern side of the Eastern Yamuna Canal, a new fire was started by groups of masked and armed men.

The area is on the border of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, and UP police officers of the nearby Loni Road police station, with multiple jeeps and carrying carbines, stood at barriers but said they were unable to engage the mobs a hundred metres away, in Delhi. The Loni Road policemen believed the new fire was a burning tempo vehicle.

At least two Delhi policemen were standing by, close to the new fire and the mob. The Wire spoke to the Delhi policemen who only said that journalists should leave and would not be protected.

In the clashes that have erupted in the national capital since Saturday, 13 people have died so far and 70 people have received gunshot wounds as violence spread on Tuesday. The number of total injured is 186 – 56 police personnel and 130 civilians.

The Union home ministry has ruled out calling in the Army to contain the situation. As many as 6,000 personnel of the paramilitary forces and the police have been deployed in the north east Delhi area. Curfew has been imposed in four areas.

AAP Wins Big in All 5 Seats With Over 40% Muslim Population

The most significant victory was that of Okhla candidate Amanatullah Khan, who BJP has long since been trying to pin as the ‘organiser’ of the Shaheen Bagh protests.

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party consolidated its hold over all seats comprising 40% or more Muslims by winning them all this time. In the 2015 polls, one of these seats had gone to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

AAP has won 62 seats out of Delhi’s 70. BJP has won in eight.

This result speaks volumes about the strategy of AAP going into the polls. Though it was party MLA from Okhla, Amanatullah Khan, who was portrayed by BJP as having “begun” the local women-led anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in Shaheen Bagh, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and the party never came out in support of the agitation fearing its fallout in the Delhi polls.

Some senior leaders like national spokesperson Sanjay Singh did visit the protest site, but the party kept focusing on its development agenda to seek votes and refused to get drawn into the politics of polarisation.

 

When BJP national leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah attacked Kejriwal for staying silent when the Shaheen Bagh protesters blocked the Kalindi Kunj road causing reported hardship to people travelling to and from South Delhi and Noida, Kejriwal answered back, asking why Delhi police, which reports to Shah, did not act.

In fact, he accused the BJP of not addressing the demands of the protesters and keeping the blockade going for political interests.

Also read: The Fruit of AAP’s Labour

This argument appears to have ultimately resonated with the voters and stalled BJP’s progress.

AAP ‘best bet’

Also, despite the Congress attempting to take a nationwide lead among political parties on the issue of anti-CAA protest, in Delhi, the Muslim vote in favour of AAP reflects that the party was thought of as the better bet among the BJP and itself.

In Ballimaran, Delhi minister Imran Hussain of AAP defeated Lata Sodhi of BJP by 36,172 votes. Former Delhi minister Haroon Yusuf of the Congress finished a distant third with 4,797 votes and 4.73% vote share.

Shaheeb Bagh protesters on February 11. Photo: PTI

Likewise, in Matia Mahal, five-term legislator Shoaib Iqbal, who had represented Janata Dal, Lok Janshakti Party and also the Congress in the past, this time won on an AAP ticket. He polled 67,250 votes and defeated Ravinder Gupta of BJP by a margin of 50,241. Mirza Javed Ali of the Congress managed to garner only 3,403 and came a distant third.

Okhla candidate from AAP, Amanatulla Khan, after his victory. Photo: PTI

The AAP candidate from Mustafabad, Haji Yunus, came from behind to poll 98,850 votes and defeat sitting MLA Jagdish Pradhan of the BJP by 20,704 votes. At one point, Pradhan was leading in the seat by over 29,000 votes but gradually Yunus rose and then surged ahead.

Amanatullah 

In Okhla, sitting MLA of AAP Amanatullah Khan came from behind to score an emphatic victory over Braham Singh of BJP by over 70,000 votes. At one point, Singh was leading by close to 2,000 votes but then when counting of votes of EVMs from areas considered Khan’s strongholds was taken up, he moved far ahead.

Khan’s record victory ensured that Okhla, which has a majority of Muslims, continued to send a member of the community to the Delhi Assembly. Former Congress minister and Rajya Sabha MP Parvez Hashmi managed to poll just about 2.5% of the votes.

Finally, in Seelampur, AAP won despite replacing its sitting MLA Mohammad Ishraque with Abdul Rehman. Rehman polled 36,920 votes more than Kaushal Kumar Mishra of BJP.

The Congress candidate, five-term MLA Mateen Ahmad, came a distant third. But he still polled 20207 or 15.61% of the total votes. A former Delhi Wakf Board chairman, Ahmad was popular among the Hindus of the area too as he organised one of the largest Kanwar camps in the city.