Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), along with opposition parties including the Trinamool Congress of West Bengal state and Congress, has launched an attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over last week's communal riots in northeast Delhi.
Both the Upper House and Lower House of Parliament have been adjourned until lunch after the principal opposition party Congress' politicians and other parties requested adjournment motions.
Top Congress parliamentarians like Rahul Gandhi, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Shashi Tharoor, and several others protested against the violence while demanding the resignation of federal Home Minister Amit Shah. The parliamentarians held banners and chanted slogans, demanding justice for the riot-affected people.
The protest was staged near Mahatma Gandhi's statue.
Shri Rahul Gandhi & Congress MPs protesting in front of Gandhi statue inside the Parliament premises ! pic.twitter.com/pabGGm8Ooj
— Rohan Gupta (@rohanrgupta) March 2, 2020
Delhi: Congress MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, protest in front of Gandhi statue inside the Parliament premises, over #DelhiViolence, demanding the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. pic.twitter.com/PmzdkSj5Fo
— ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2020
West Bengal’s Trinamool party MPs staged a strike in Parliament to protest against the riots by covering their eyes with a black cloth, claiming that the BJP turned a blind eye as clashes continued in Delhi.
Protesting in Parliament today against this government & its law enforcement agencies that watched Delhi burn as though blindfolded. The ever voluble VinaashJodi of #ModiShah who never cease to share MannkiBaat has taken a vow of silence on riots. Finger on lips. pic.twitter.com/eLa1Cbz33Q
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) March 2, 2020
Delhi’s ruling AAP party’s leader and its spokesperson Sanjay Singh held the BJP responsible for the riots in Delhi. The politicians carried placards, claiming that the BJP supported the violence.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs protest in front of Gandhi statue inside the Parliament premises, over violence in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/Mtjx5VjIf0
— Amanpreet Singh Uppal (@iAmanUppal) March 2, 2020
Protests over communal clashes in Delhi that went on for three consecutive days, starting on 23 February, also impacted the UK. Several Indian students and members of the Indian diaspora took to the streets outside the High Commission of India in London on Saturday in an “emergency” protest.
The Hindu-Muslim clashes in Delhi were triggered after pro and anti-citizenship law demonstrators started throwing stones at each other. The neighbourhoods of Mustafabad, Chand Bagh, Karawal Nagar and Yamuna Vihar turned into a battlefield with rioters hurling petrol bombs, vandalising place of worship and assaulting people.