'Shaheen Bagh anti-national version of Jallianwala Bagh'

"Shaheen Bagh is the anti-national version of Jallianwala Bagh massacre," claimed the Hindu Mahasabha on Saturday and demanded "stern action" to "deal with it".

Speaking to , Swami Chakrapani, the head of the outfit alleged, "Jallianwala Bagh was a congregation for nationalist cause where patriotic slogans were raised. Constrastingly, in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, protesters are raising anti-India slogans and Hindu-phobic posters. No wonder, this is the anti-national version of Jallianwala Bagh."

He lamented that unlike the British, the Modi government is "not doing much". When asked whether he is advocating a massacre, he clarified, "I am not saying there should be General Dyer. They have every right to protest. But they have no right to block the road for more than a month and harbour elements who raise anti-India slogans, using the platform." He demanded, "stern action" from the government in "dealing with" the protesters.

Jallianwala Bagh is a historic garden in Amritsar, preserved in memory of those killed in the massacre at the site on the festival of Baisakhi on April 13, 1919, perpetrated by British troops led by General Reginald Dyer.

This is not the first time the fringe outfit demanded action against protesters at Shaheen Bagh, who have been demanding rolling back of the CAA, calling it "discriminatory". Earlier, the outfit had demanded a government probe on possible Pakistan linkages with the ongoing protest.

Chakrapani had told , "We are not against their right to protest. But the intention is not to protest but create a sustained anarchy and a show of strength. The Shaheen Bagh protest is a way of telling the powers that be that 'Yeh humara area hai' (this is our area)."

This is not the first time that the month-long protest at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, blocking the main road, has made the headlines. On Tuesday, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar used the platform to call the ruling BJP 'kaatil' (murderers).

He also accused the Modi government of dividing the country and "trying to create disturbance within the Muslim community".

"Jo bhi qurbaniyan deni ho, usme main bhi shaamil hone ke liye tayaar hun. Ab dekhein ki kiska hath mazboot hai, hamara ya us kaatil ka? (I am ready for whatever sacrifices have to be made. We have got to see whose hands ours or of killers are stronger)," he said.

Unverified videos are also doing the rounds on social media where a section of protesters are seen holding posters advocating for "Freedom for Kashmir".

( With inputs from IANS )