BJP's controversial lawmaker Parvesh Verma is at it again. On polling day on Saturday, Verma took posted a video of himself saying that people in Shaheen Bagh are voting for Aam Aadmi Party because they are indebted to them for Biryani.
He said AAP has been arranging biryani for Shaheen Bagh protesters and as a quid pro quo, they are voting for the AAP.
"Delhiites, the media is saying the same thing which I was insisting upon so far. People from a certain community from Shaheen Bagh, Seelampur and Jamia Millia are standing in long queues to claim that they will vote for AAP. Why would not they? Aam Aadmi Party has been feeding them biryani for more than a month," Verma said.
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The BJP MP also called it as a mode of "repayment of loan" given by the AAP. Addressing Delhiites as "Rashtravadi" and "Deshbhakt", Verma clearly implied that the protesters are not. "We won't let Delhi breakaway," he claimed. He ended his monologue with "Jai Shri Ram".
Verma, releasing this video on the day of polling, has already created concern within the opposition ranks. The EC has not yet reacted to this new video, but the tone, tenor and messaging of the video seems to be clear -- to polarise the voting in the second half of the day.
This is not the first time Verma has alleged that AAP has been arranging Biryani for Shaheen Bagh protesters.
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Just a day before voting day, Verma, who was banned from campaigning for Delhi Elections twice by the Election Commission, accused AAP leader Manish Sisodia of bribery and sponsoring 'Biryani' for protesters in Shaheen Bagh.
Verma said that the Sisodia's Officer on Special Duty (OSD) arrested by the CBI on bribery charges "is just a face", "the one who gets all the money is Manish Sisodia".
"With this money, he sponsors Biryani for Shaheen Bagh protesters," Verma alleged.
The parliamentarian from the Bharatiya Janata Party had earlier stirred a controversy saying that if BJP comes to power in Delhi, the protesters at Shaheen Bagh will be cleared within an hour. Referring to the protesters, he claimed: "they will enter your homes and rape your daughters and sisters."
"If the BJP forms government on February 11, not a single person will be found at (the protest site) Shaheen Bagh," Pravesh Verma, BJP MP from West Delhi, said during a meeting at Vikaspuri assembly constituency.
The Election Commission banned him twice from campaigning for having called Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal a "terrorist".
People at Shaheen Bagh have been camping on Road no 13 A for more than 50 days now against the Citizenship Amendment Act and nationwide NRC. The protesters have also been on the streets in Jamia Millia and Seelampur area in Delhi. In fact, the year began with violence near Jamia Millia Islamia that saw cars being attacked and buses burnt.
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This is not the first time that Verma has trained his guns at the protesters, earlier too, he made controversial statements about them that brought EC censure against him.
Delhi is polling on February 8 and the results will be out on February 11, and both AAP and BJP have thrown all their might to win.
(With IANS inputs)
