'Political design' behind Jamia, Shaheen Bagh protests: Modi

New Delhi: The anti-CAA protests in Delhi's Seelampur, Jamia Nagar and Shaheen Bagh are not a coincidence but a political design aimed at harming the harmony of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday while accusing the AAP and the Congress of fuelling the demonstrations.

Addressing an election rally in Karkardooma in east Delhi, Modi alleged that the AAP and the Congress were provoking people and misinforming them.

"The vote of the people of Delhi (during Lok Sabha polls) had supported the change in the country. Now the vote of the people of Delhi will also change and modernise our Delhi. It will make it safe, make the lives of the people living here easier," he said.

"They were keeping the Constitution and tricolour in the forefront, but the aim was to "divert attention from the real conspiracy", Modi said ahead of the Delhi elections on February 8.

Referring to the protest in Shaheen Bagh, he said the people commuting to and from Noida are facing a lot of problems. "If the strength of those plotting a conspiracy increases, then another road or lane will be blocked. We can't leave Delhi to such anarchy. Only people of Delhi can stop this. Every vote given to the BJP can do this," he said.

"Be it Seelampur, Jamia (Nagar) or Shaheen Bagh, for the last several days, there have been protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Are these protests coincidental? No, this is not coincidental, it is an experiment," he said.

The Shaheen Bagh protests have taken centrestage in the BJP poll campaign with the top party leadership raking it up in every rally. Modi also took a swipe at the Congress saying those who questioned the Batla House encounter are now saving those who raised 'tukde tukde' slogans. He also slammed the AAP and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and said they questioned the Army on surgical strikes.

The Prime Minister promised that the BJP-led Central government will provide 'pucca' houses to all poor families by 2022. He alleged that the Kejriwal-led government is stalling the welfare schemes launched by the Central government.

Modi said his government was finding solutions to decades-old problems affecting the country and cited the regularisation of unauthorised colonies to assert that the BJP had fulfilled its promise to the people of Delhi.

He told the gathering that India will not be driven by politics of hate but by the policy of development. Listing his government's achievements, he cited the revocation of Article 370, the Ayodhya verdict, the Kartarpur corridor and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act for persecuted minorities.