The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi unit president Saurabh Bhardwaj on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of politicizing the faith by directing the Durga Puja organizers to put a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi next to the statue of Goddess Durga.
Addressing Bhardwaj Nandalism Conference, he said, “There is a large Bengali community in Delhi and grand Durga Puja ceremonies are organized every year in the areas of Chittaranjan Park, Rohini, Dwarka, Greater Kailash etc.
Pooja committees have to get permission from many departments to organize these ceremonies. But the arrangements have been disrupted under the BJP government and the committees are not getting any support.
He claimed that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered that pictures of the Prime Minister should be placed during Durga Puja. Bhardwaj said, “Many Prime Ministers held this position before Modi, but no Chief Minister has ever ordered that his photographs should be placed with the statue of Goddess Durga.”
Reversing Bhardwaj, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, AAP’s Delhi convenor Saurabh Bhardwaj and other leaders are afraid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As soon as they hear their name, they lose their balance.
While releasing pictures of big hoardings of former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at Chhath Puja places, Kapoor asked, if it was right to put pictures of Kejriwal, then how can it be wrong to put pictures of BJP leaders today?
Kapoor insisted that the Delhi government led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is committed to direct financial assistance to the organizers of Kandar Yatra, Ramlila, Durga Puja and Chhath festivals.