New Delhi: The BJP on Monday said that the Supreme Court order denying bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case is a “big slap” on the Congress’ face and demanded that the opposition party apologise for supporting the “tukde-tukde gang”.
Calling Khalid and Imam the “poster boys” of divisive forces in India, the BJP claimed that the Congress ecosystem was projecting them as “innocent victims” to protect them.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to Khalid and Imam, saying there was a prima facie case against them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria, however, granted bail to activists Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad.
It noted that prosecution material suggests that Khalid and Imam were involved in “planning, mobilisation and strategic direction” of the 2020 Delhi riots.
Latching on to the apex court’s decision, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla asked, “When such a major and clear decision has already come from the Supreme Court, will the Congress rub its nose on the ground and apologise to the families of Ankit Sharma, Ratan Lal, and Dilbar Negi who were killed in Delhi?”
He also asked the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party if they would apologise to the families of the Hindus killed in the riots.
Poonawalla alleged that the Delhi riots were an example of the “biggest industry of anti-Hindu sentiment, the ‘M’ factor and the vote-bank factor”.