Mahua Moitra vs BJP over ‘terrorising’ Hindu fishmongers at Delhi’s CR Park - ‘are we all supposed to eat dhoklas?'

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra on Wednesday questioned Delhi police on why no arrests have been made so far in the case were Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ‘goons’ were caught on video ‘terrorising’ Hindu fishmongers into shutting their legal shops next to a temple that they built CR Park – a neighbourhood in South Delhi known for its large Bengali community.

“Or are we all supposed to eat dhoklas and chant Jai Shri Ram?,” Moitra, the Member of Parliament (MP) from Krishnanagar seat in West Bengal, said in a post on X tagging Delhi police on April 9.

“BJP goons caught on video but not yet arrested. Hello, Delhi Police,” she said.

‘Hurting sentiments of Sanatanis’

On April 8, Moitra shared a purported video of the incident, where a man can be heard telling those present at Market number 1 in CR Park that “a fish market sharing a wall with a temple was hurting sentiments of Sanatanis”.

“Sabhi bhaiyon se yehi aadesh hai ki mandir ke saath ye bazaar hona nahi chahiye (To all my brothers, this is my order: This market should not be there next to the temple),” the man is heard saying in the video. He also says that as per Sanatan Dharma, any type of killing is prohibited.

“Please watch saffron brigade BJP goons threaten fish-eating Bengalis of Chittaranjan Park, Delhi. Never in 60 years has this happened, residents say,” Moitra said in the post accompanied by the video.

“The temple in CR park that BJP goons laying claim to was built by the non veg market vendors ! They pray there - the big pujas are held there. 3 months of a BJP govt in Delhi. Good anniversary present,” Moitra said in another post.

The BJP came to power in Delhi after 27 years, defeating the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in assembly polls held in February this year.

Why is BJP creating problems in such a peaceful area?

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former MLA from Greater Kailash Saurabh Bharadwaj said these fish shops were allotted by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and that this is not any illegal encroachment.

“If BJP had problem with CR Park Bengalis eating fish, they should have said so in their manifesto,” said Bharadwaj who lost the assembly election from Greater Kailash seat to BJP's Shikha Roy in February this year.

CR Park comes under the Greater Kailash assembly seat.

“Bengalis in CR Park are one of the most educated communities in Delhi. Their sentiments and eating habits must be respected. I am a vegetarian, and I never had problem with their eating habits, why is BJP creating problems in such a peaceful area?” asked Bharadwaj, who is also AAP President of Delhi.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva responded to the row and said everyone should “respect the sanctity of temples and at CR Park, fish markets traders have always respected temples”.

“Fish markets have been legally allotted and are needed in the area. The fish traders maintain a high level of cleanliness in the area and take regular part in socio-religious activities of CR Park," Sachdeva was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

The video, Sachdeva alleged, posted on social media by Mahua Moitra seems to have been tailored by people with vested political interests to disturb community harmony in CR Park.

"We strongly condemn the incident and request Delhi Police to take stern action,” he said.