Union minister Giriraj Singh claims Shaheen Bagh training 'suicide bombers'; calls site 'breeding ground' for them

Union minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday came under the scanner, yet again, by making a controversial statement on Twitter. Singh on Twitter alleged that Shaheen Bagh has become the breeding ground for suicide bombers and a conspiracy is being plotted against the nation. He also posted an unverified video on his handle where a group of Burqa-clad women can be heard protesting against the new citizenship law.

Singh had earlier hit too out at Shaheen Bagh, claiming that the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were being organised across the country to “create 1947-like conditions” when India was partitioned, and alleged that the Congress, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the “tukde-tukde gang” are behind the Shaheen Bagh protest. Singh also accused Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of allegedly backing the “tukde-tukde gang”. He is not the only BJP leader to have made controversial statements about the protest site. Kapil Mishra last month tweeted that “Pakistan” had entered Shaheen Bagh, and likened polling day to a contest between India and its Muslim-majority neighbour. This lead to the Election Commission imposing a 48-hour campaigning ban on BJP candidate from Delhi’s Model Town constituency. In another incident, a clip of Union minister Anurag Thakur purportedly leading a crowd in a chant of ‘shoot the traitors’ at a BJP rally went viral on social media, just a day after controversy erupted at an Amit Shah rally in New Delhi after a few people chanted the same slogan,  as per a report in India Today. The Election Commission had issued a show-cause notice to Thakur. Shaheen Bagh has become the epicentre of protests against the CAA in the National Capital and the agitation has been thrust by political parties into a poll issue. Hundreds of people, including women and children, have been protesting since 15 December at Shaheen Bagh against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens. With inputs from agencies