BJP's Dilip Ghosh: 'People damaging property will be shot like those in UP'

After the Uttar Pradesh government decieded to recover the cost of the damage done to public property during violent protests from the rioters responsible for the damage, West Bengal BJP state president Dilip Ghosh on Sunday courted controversy by threatening to shoot those involved in damaging public property in the state. 

"Uttar Pradesh government had not only booked such people but also lathi-charged and shot them. Similarly, we will also shoot, lathi-charge and book whoever destroys public property in the state," Ghosh said addressing a public gathering. 

Reportedly, his remarks drew flak from other political parties in West Bengal.

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'Public property belongs to taxpayers'

He accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of not taking action against those who damaged public property during the violent protests against the amended Citizenship Act, and called vandalisers “her voters”. 

"Who do they think the public property that they are destroying belongs to? Their father? Public property belongs to the taxpayers. You (Mamata) do not say anything because they are your voters. In Assam and Uttar Pradesh, our government has shot these people like dogs," Ghosh said. 

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The MP from Kharagpur was attending an event in support of the newly amended citizenship law. Calling for action against those destroying public property in the name of protests, Ghosh appended, "You come here, eat our food, stay here and vandalize public property. Is it your zamindari? We will bash you with lathis, shoot you and put you in jail. Mamata Banerjee has no desire to do anything." 

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The passage of the contentious amended Citizenship Act witnessed a row of violent protests across the nation that started from the northeastern states such as Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura, followed by violent protests in universities such as JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh. Several protests were held across the nation with West Bengal also witnessing violent protests.  

The amended Citizenship Act seeks to provide citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Jains, Jews, Parsis and Buddhist refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who entered India on or before 31st December 2014 due to religious persecution. However, several sections of society are misled and thinking that the act would snatch away the citizenship of Indian minorities, though the central government has maintained that the act is about giving citizenship to the refugees who faced religious persecution in the three aforesaid countries and not about snatching citizenship from Indian minorities.

(With ANI inputs)

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