Chidambaram slams Amit Shah over remarks against Shaheen Bagh protesters

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram hit out at Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday for his alleged remarks against Shaheen Bagh protesters, saying only those who despise Mahatma Gandhi would want to "get rid of Shaheen Bagh".

Shah on Saturday had reportedly said that there should be "no Shaheen Bagh" in Delhi and the electorate must press the BJP's lotus symbol on February 8 for it.

Canvassing for the party candidate in Babarpur constituency on Sunday, Shah said, "Your vote to BJP candidate will make Delhi and the country safe and prevent thousands of incidents like Shaheen Bagh."

"When you press the button (of EVM) on February 8, do so with such anger that its current is felt at Shaheen Bagh," he said.

Coming down hard on Shah's remarks, Chidambaram said, "Home Minister seeks votes to 'get rid of Shaheen Bagh'."

"Only those who despise Gandhiji would want to get rid of Shaheen Bagh. Shaheen Bagh represents the essence of Mahatma Gandhi," he said in a series of tweets.

"Getting rid of Shaheen Bagh amounts to getting rid of Ahimsa and Satyagraha," Chidambaram said.

Protesters opposing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and a planned pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC), have been sitting on protest at Shaheen Bagh for over a month now. The agitators said they will continue their agitation until the government decides to rollback the contentious law and scrap any NRC.