Shaheen ‘experiment’. Did you mean it, PM? Modi alleged ‘political design’ & ‘experiment’ behind protests

Whether at Seelampur or Jamia or Shaheen Bagh, the demonstrations are not a mere coincidence but an experiment: Modi, on February 3 (PTI photo)

TT, 4.02.20, New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday used a word that can be translated as “experiment” to describe the protests in Shaheen Bagh and elsewhere.

If the Prime Minister indeed meant “experiment” when he said “prayog” (the word also means “use” and “method”), it could be seen as loaded vocabulary, given the connotation the word evoked during the dreaded human experimentation years by the Nazis and the infamous description of Gujarat as a “Hindutva laboratory” by the then VHP spearhead Praveen Togadia during the riots of 2002.

Modi on Monday alleged a “political design” and “experiment” behind the anti-citizenship-act protests at Shaheen Bagh and elsewhere, and sought Delhi’s votes to end the “anarchy” and stop the protests from spreading into new areas.

“Seelampur ho, Jamia ho, ya phir Shaheen Bagh, CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) ke virodh me ho raha pradarshan mahaj ek sanyog nahi, yeh ek prayog hai (Whether at Seelampur or Jamia or Shaheen Bagh, the demonstrations are not a mere coincidence but an experiment),” the Prime Minister told a poll rally in Delhi on Monday, referring to three places in the capital that had witnessed protests.

All three localities have considerable Muslim presence. At the start of the anti-CAA protests, Modi had claimed that the protesters could be “identified from their clothes”.

“Iske pichhe rajniti ka ek aisa design hai jo rashtra ke sauhardya ko khandit karne wala hai (Behind this lies a political design that is poised to shatter the nation’s harmony),” Modi said on Monday.

Modi said the protests could spread to new areas and claimed the only way to prevent that was to vote for the BJP in the February 8 Delhi elections. “If the conspirators’ strength increases, they will block another road or lane tomorrow. We cannot leave Delhi to this anarchy. The people of Delhi alone can stop this. Votes cast for the BJP can do it,” he said.

Modi contended that had the agitation been really against the citizenship law, it would have ended after assurances from the government. However, the Centre has so far not tried to talk or reach out directly to the women leading the agitation.

Prime Minister Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat on Thursday, the 72nd death anniversary of the Father of the Nation. "The personality, ideas and ideals of the Mahatma shall continue to inspire us to build a strong, able and prosperous New India," Modi had said on January 30 ..Picture by Prem Singh

He said the sit-in was against court directives. Hearing a public interest plea that asked that Shaheen Bagh be cleared of protesters, Delhi High Court had last month declined any specific directions. It had left it to “the wisdom of the police”.

On Monday, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a directive to the authorities to remove the Shaheen Bagh protesters. The plea, filed by a former BJP MLA, said the protesters were causing hardship to people by blocking an arterial road connecting Delhi to Noida.

Led by Union home minister Amit Shah, the BJP has turned Shaheen Bagh into its principal poll plank in Delhi and peddled a polarising campaign around it.

Sangh parivar supporters have made indirect efforts to provoke violence, shooting at peaceful protesters at Jamia.