New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) Delhi BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal has criticised Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj for seeking an FIR over the burning of a 30-foot cockroach effigy during a Dussehra celebration in the national capital.
Responding to Bharadwaj’s demand, Khandelwal said, “I could not understand what case there is for registering an FIR. I feel Saurabh Bharadwaj is gradually losing his mental balance. Is a cockroach something healthy? A cockroach is a disease, and it is directly linked to cleanliness in the country.’
Khandelwal further mentioned, “If a cockroach effigy is being burned keeping cleanliness in mind, why should Saurabh Bharadwaj object? This clearly shows that somewhere there is a thief in his heart.”
The controversy erupted after the Keshav Ramlila Committee reportedly burned the cockroach effigy along with the traditional effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad as part of its Dussehra programme. Bharadwaj described the act as an insult to the Hindu faith and alleged that BJP leaders were using religion for “cheap politics” against Generation Z.
The effigy-burning comes amid protests in Delhi, including a demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. However, the committee has denied any political motive.
West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh also defended the practice.
“Cockroaches should be burned, and other effigies representing different forms of demons should also be burned. Look at Durga Puja in Bengal — every pandal features a different form of a demon, and several such effigies are burned,” he said.
Bharadwaj has submitted a written complaint to the Lieutenant Governor and the Delhi Police Commissioner, seeking an FIR against Keshav Ramlila Committee president and BJP MLA Ashok Kumar Devaraha, as well as Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra.
In his complaint, Bharadwaj alleged that the leaders had deliberately hurt religious sentiments, altered sacred Hindu traditions, attempted to create hostility between communities and promoted objectionable content through media platforms. He questioned the RSS’s silence on the issue and said Hindu traditions could not be mocked to target Generation Z or gain political advantage.
–IANS
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