Manoj Tiwari today addressed a rally in Delhi's Shahdara (File)
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Monday invoked "Shaheen Bagh" - the epicentre of the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest in the national capital - at a rally attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Tiwari described the February 8 Delhi assembly election as a contest between those who want to turn the city into a big protest site and those who want to transform it into "Shanti Bagh" (garden of peace).
"On one side people speak the language of Pakistan and on other side are those who give pride to India on the international stage. I want to say this in front of Modi Ji, on one side are people who want to make Delhi Shaheen Bagh and on the other side are those who want to make it Shanti Bagh," Mr Tiwari said at the rally in Delhi's Shahdara.
Before Mr Tiwari's speech, PM Modi spoke at the rally and termed the Shaheen Bagh protest as "anarchy". "Hiding behind the Constitution and the national flag, they are giving lectures," PM Modi said at the rally.
"Whether it is Seelampur, Jamia or Shaheen Bagh, there have been multiple protests against the CAA. Do you think these protests are a coincidence? It is not. It is all an experiment rooted in politics. If it was simply about a law, it would have ended," he added.
Hundreds of people, mostly women, have been camping since December last year at the arterial road that connects Delhi and Noida, demanding the repeal of the law, which for the first time makes religion a criterion for getting Indian citizenship. While the centre claims the law will grant citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, critics say it would be used to target Muslims.
The BJP has made the protest its main poll issue in Delhi. It has been attacking AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal over it, alleging he sympathises with the protesters and "anti-national" elements.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is the BJP's star campaigner, said on Sunday that Mr Kejriwal is sponsoring the protests.
"The BJP is working with zero tolerance towards terrorism. But Kejriwal is busy sponsoring and offering biryani in Shaheen Bagh," he said.