Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday took to Twitter to call the Shaheen Bagh protests a breeding ground for "suicide bombers".
"Shaheen Bagh is not just a protest movement anymore, suicide bombers are being raised here. A conspiracy against the state is being hatched in its capital," the Union Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries tweeted, sharing a video purportedly from the protests.
Giriraj Singh has made many controversial comments in recent times. At the beginning of this year he had alleged that Indian children go abroad and "start eating beef". He said this was "because we did not teach them about our culture and traditional values".
More recently, he had made headlines after suggesting that scientists should conduct more research on cow dung. This, he opined, could make it financially viable for farmers to keep their cows even after they have stopped producing milk.
Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests have been in place at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh since December 15 of last year. In the run-up to the Delhi elections, the protests have also become a bone of contention between various political parties.
Recently, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath hit out at the protests, saying that those who supported terrorists in Kashmir were staging protest in Shaheen Bagh and raising slogans of 'azadi'. He also accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party of supporting the protesters and "supplying biryani" to them.
There have also been three incidents of firing at the national capital in recent times, albeit with no casualties. On February 1, a man made his way to Shaheen Bagh and fired shots in the air. An update by the Delhi Police said that photos recovered from the shooter's phone revealed that he joined the Aam Aadmi Party in 2019 -- something that his family denies. Kejriwal for his part, accused the BJP of "using" the police.
The protests also made the news following the death of a four-month-old infant. The toddler who used to accompany his mother almost everyday to the site passed away after acquiring a severe cold and congestion following exposure to the winter chill at the outdoor demonstration.
