In Riot-Torn Delhi, 'Desh Ke Gaddaron Ko, Goli Maaro…' Slogan Returns At Rajiv Chowk Metro Station

While Delhi is trying to bring some sense of normalcy after the worst communal riots battered, bruised the national capital for 72 hours, the infamous ‘shoot the traitors’ slogan resurfaced in the city on Saturday. According to a Twitter user, a group of men were caught on camera chanting ‘desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro s#@&*n ko’ on the busy Rajiv Chowk Metro Station on Saturday. Mini Saxena, a writer, tweeted the clip on the micro-blogging site on Saturday morning. “Men shouting "desh ke gaddaaron ko, goli maaron s#@&* ko" in broad daylight, in the middle of Delhi, at Rajiv Chowk metro station, earlier this morning. This is how Hindu terror is normalised. Please amplify. Everyone should know the dangerous direction this country is taking,” Saxena said on Twitter. 

A Scroll report said that the video was shot by an ad executive. The report added that around 10 men stood on the link bridge at the station and started chanting the controversial slogan. Soon, police and metro security personnel rushed to the spot. “We have detained them at Rajiv Chowk Metro Police Station and interrogation is being carried out,” DCP Metro was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Men shouting "desh ke gaddaaron ko, goli maaron saaron ki" in broad daylight, in the middle of Delhi, at Rajiv Chowk metro station, earlier this morning. This is how Hindu terror is normalised. Please amplify. Everyone should know the dangerous direction this country is taking. pic.twitter.com/80cKO95MF8

— Mini Saxena (@MiniSaxena6) February 29, 2020

Congress leader Srivatsa also tweeted about the same and demanded action from the Delhi Police. "Goli Maaro" is spreading The hate slogan is so normalized that Sanghis were shouting it at Rajiv Chowk Metro station Hate begets Hate Violence begets Violence All Indians must take a stand now. Stop this descending spiral, else it will destroy India,” he said on Twitter. “Dear @DelhiPolice, In front of thousands of people, at a metro station in central Delhi, some are shouting "Goli Maaro" This is a call to violence & a direct result of not arresting Kapil Mishra Can you & @OfficialDMRC check CCTV & arrest these fellows,” he asked. 

The communal slogan was first raised by Union Minister Anurag Thakur during a poll rally on January 27 last year. At the rally, Thakur, the minister of state for finance, shouted "desh ke gaddaron ko" to which the crowd responded "goli maro sa*** ko" (shoot down the traitors). Subsequently, Thakur was banned for the incendiary slogan by the Election Commission. The Election Commission had issued a show-cause notice to Thakur  for his “desh ke gaddaron ko” slogan at a poll meeting, saying prima facie the remarks had the “potential of disturbing communal harmony” and the BJP MP had violated the poll code and electoral law.

Meanwhile, the situation in northeast Delhi was peaceful Saturday morning with residents gradually coming to terms with the damage in communal riots in the area earlier this week. Security personnel have been conducting flag marches and holding regular consultations with locals to assuage their fears. They are also urging residents to not pay attention to rumours on social media and report them to the police.

Relatives of riot victims continued to wait outside the mortuary at GTB Hospital to receive bodies. The violence in Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar, Bhajan Pura, Yamuna Vihar areas of northeast Delhi has claimed at least 42 lives and left over 200 injured. A large number of properties have been damaged. Frenzied mobs torched houses, shops, vehicles, a petrol pump and pelted stones at locals and police personnel.  

(With agency inputs)