As the Aam Aadmi Party triggered a row alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Delhi government removed pictures of Dr BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from the chief minister’s office, the saffron party’s MP Manoj Tiwari said though the AAP displayed those photos, “they did not have character”.
Tiwari said the Arvind Kejriwal-led party ruined the national capital in the last 11 years, adding that now they have no other option than to “spread confusion”. But, he said, Delhi is not going to be confused. “We are the people who follow the path of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh ji,” the BJP MP told news agency ANI.
He further said, “Wo log chitr lagate rahe lekin charitra nahi ha unmein (Those people kept displaying pictures but they themselves did not have character)”.
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday claimed that the BJP’s Rekha Gupta-led government had hurt the sentiments of millions of BR Ambedkar followers by removing his photograph from the Delhi CM’s office.
In a post on X, Kejriwal said, “The new BJP government of Delhi removed Babasaheb’s photo and put up the photo of Prime Minister Modi. This is not right. This has hurt millions of followers of Babasaheb”.
He further made a request to the saffron party and said, “You can put the photo of the Prime Minister but do not remove the photo of Babasaheb. Let his photo remain there.”
Former Delhi CM and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Atishi also attacked the BJP, accusing the party of having an anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh mentality.
“Today, a proof of its (BJP’s) anti-Dalit mentality has been presented. Arvind Kejriwal had put up photos of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh in every office of the Delhi government…the BJP has removed both these photos from the Chief Minister’s office. This shows that the BJP is an anti-Dalit, anti-Sikh party,” she said.
“Does the BJP think PM Narendra Modi is greater than Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh?” she added.
Atishi also held a protest outside the Delhi assembly.
However, the BJP’s Delhi unit has refuted AAP’s claims, showing the chambers of Delhi CM Rekha Gupta which, indeed have the portraits of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh.
In a post on X, the Delhi BJP said, “The chambers of the Chief Minister of Delhi, @gupta_rekha and all the ministers are adorned with the pictures of revered Mahatma Gandhi, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, the President and the Prime Minister.”
(with ANI inputs)