Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra claimed on Tuesday that fish and meat markets in a Bengali-dominated area in southeast Delhi's Chittaranjan Park were shut by pro-Hindutva and BJP goons. She also alleged that the goons threatened traders and shopkeepers for running their shops next to a temple in the area. The BJP hit back for posting an edited video in an attempt to disturb communal harmony in the area.
After the TMC MP's video, the Delhi Police said that they did not receive any complaint regarding the Chittaranjan Park's fish and meat market, but the matter will be investigated. In a video shared by Moitra on her social media handle shows two men, one of them dress in a saffron colour shirt is can be hear saying it is wrong to set up a meat or fish market next to the temple in Chittaranjan Park, popularly known as CR Park, one of the poshest areas of Delhi.
A video was shared by Moitra on X with the caption, "Please watch saffron brigade BJP goons threaten fish-eating Bengalis of Chittaranjan Park, Delhi. Never in 60 years has this happened, residents say."
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In a video posted by TMC MP, a man can be heard saying, "The market is just adjoining the temple. This is wrong. It is hurting the sentiments of the Sanatanas. Sanatana Dharma says we should not kill anyone... "This is pure fiction that fish and meat are offered to deities. There is no such proof in the 'shastras'. The entire country is watching this."
The priest at the Kali Temple and the vendors selling meat and fish at CR Park market in Delhi responded to a viral video in which some people threatened to close the shops as they were near a temple. The priest clarified that they don't have any problem with selling meat and fish as non-veg is also used during 'puja' and other important occasions, whereas the vendors said that the DDA has approved the shops.
The shopkeeper tells the man that the fish market was allotted by the DDA. The man says, "Yes, I know that. The DDA can't run away with its responsibility. We will fix their mistakes. CR Park is a posh area, and foreigners come here.
Moitra said, "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. Three months of a BJP government in Delhi. Good anniversary present."
To support her claim, Moitra shared a screengrab of her WhatsApp chats written in Bengali by a resident who claimed that the "forcible closure" of meat and fish shops in CR Park was a "terrible situation. "Didi, I saw your tweet about the forced closure of meat shops. I live near CR Park. Here, all the meat markets and fish shops have been closed for the past 10 days. The situation is terrifying," the WhatsApp message read.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva attacked Moitra over the video and said that fish markets at Chittaranjan Park were legally allotted and fish traders have always maintained the sanctity of the temples. "Everyone should respect sanctity of temples. CR Park fish markets traders have always respected temples. Fish markets have been legally allotted and they are the needs of the area. The fish traders mantain a high-level of cleanliness in the area and take regular part in socio-religious activities of Chittaranjan Park," he said.
"The video 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," he said. Sachdeva said he strongly condemned the matter and urged the Delhi Police to take action.