Indian lawmakers scuffle over citizenship riots where 41 died
NEW DELHI: Indian lawmakers pushed and shoved each other in parliament on Monday after opposition parties demanded the resignation of interior minister Amit Shah over the handling of deadly riots triggered by a citizenship law that excludes Muslims.
Police said on Monday that at least 41 people had died in two days of Hindu-Muslim clashes in New Delhi last week, the worst communal riots in the capital in decades.
In parliament on Monday, opposition legislators shouted slogans and waved posters demanding that Shah, who controls Delhi’s police and is an key ally of Modi’s, step down.
In Shiv Vihar, a low-income area in northeast Delhi where some of the worst violence took place, hundreds of paramilitary police patrolled deserted lanes.
“There has been a big improvement in the situation,” Delhi’s chief of police S.N. Srivastava said while touring the area, littered with burnt-out vehicles and schoolbooks. “The primary focus is to restore confidence among the people.”
But there was anger from those affected.
“The police took us to another area but didn’t even ask how we were,” said Mohammed Uddin, 70, whose home was burnt by the mob. “I don’t even have clothes.” - Reuters