AAP and BJP trade charges as Delhi burns

As Sunday witnessed large-scale violence in the national capital in the name of protest against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, the identity of real culprits remained elusive. But that didn't stop politic from doing what they do best - politicking on an extremely delicate matter.

Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, referred to a video where a cop is seen carrying a container, to allege, "BJP is setting fire in Delhi out of fear of defeat in elections. The AAP is against violence of any kind. This is cheap politics of BJP. In this video, see how the fire is being set under the protection of the police."

In another tweet, Sisodia posted a screenshot of the earlier video, which did not substantiate anything apart from a cop is seen carrying a container. He tweeted: "See this photo .. See who is setting buses and cars on fire... This photo is the biggest proof of the BJP's poor politics... Will BJP leaders give some answers to this?"

If that wasn't all, the AAP leader demanded an "independent inquiry" to find out the real culprits. But in the same breath, he labelled BJP and its "pathetic politics" to be behind it.

BJP too didn't lose time to hit back. Party's vice President Bijayant Jay Panda cited Sunday's violence as reason for bringing in NRC and Citizenship Amendment Act. "The vandalism & arson by "protestors" should make it clear to anyone who still have doubts why #CitizenshipAmendmentAct & #NRC are needed," he said.

He further added, "These people are far from being the concerned citizens they claim to be. They are anarchists to whom neither Constitution nor citizenship is sacrosanct."

Giving a twist to the controversy, certain media reports suggested that AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan was present at the protest site. Delhi BJP leader said the violence was his handiwork, by asking, "Arvind Kejriwal, can you explain to citizens of Delhi why was AAP MLA present at the violent protest?"

BJP's Delhi Chief Manoj Tiwari alleged that Arvind Kejriwal used his party MLA to "instigate" people.

This political blame game continued through Sunday evening, even as a second spate of stone pelting began after 7.30 p.m. No one knows who was or were behind what appears to be an orchestrated attempt of violence. But politic have decided who the culprit is, depending on who you speak to.

( With inputs from IANS )