Just ahead of the Budget Session, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has upped the ante by declaring an open war against Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. The party hinted at stalling the Parliament if Shinde does not apologise. Senior BJP leaders such as Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley led the protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi today. The Delhi Police did not allow the BJP leaders to march towards the PM’s residence and detained them.

“Shinde wants to divide the country on communal line to garner votes. The Congress is supporting him. Shinde’s “Hindu Terror” remarks against the BJP and RSS were outrageous. If the Congress wants cooperation from the BJP in Parliament, it must make Shinde apologise,” the BJP leaders said.

“Shinde’s remarks were offensive. He must withdraw those and apologise. Or else, the BJP would continue to boycott him. He not only tried communal polarisation, but also strengthened anti-India forces like Hafiz Saeed,” said Arun Jaitley.

The BJP vows to intensify the attacks against Sushil Shinde and corner him wherever possible. During the Chintan Shivir of the Congress in Jaipur in January, Sushil Shinde created a flutter when he said that BJP and RSS are promoting “Hindu Terror” in their camps. He later retracted saying he meant “Saffron Terror”. But the damage was done.