BJP, AAP spar over Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh portraits at Delhi CM office
AAP alleges portraits of Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh have been removed from CM’s office; BJP denies charge, says it’s AAP’s ploy to divert attention on CAG reports on 'corruption'
The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday (February 24) alleged that the portraits of BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh were removed from Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's office. The charge has been denied by the ruling BJP which has accused the AAP of trying to divert people's attention from the CAG reports that will be tabled in the Assembly to expose "corruption" by the party.
BJP shares ‘proof’
The Delhi BJP shared photos of the chief minister's office on social media and said, "The portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh the President and the prime minister are displayed in the offices of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and other ministers."
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On the eve of Republic Day in 2022, then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal directed officials that only the portraits of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh will be displayed in government offices, including the chief minister’s office. Photos of no other political leader will be displayed in Delhi government offices, he had said.
‘Anti-Dalit, anti-Sikh’
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi raised the issue in the first session of the newly-constituted eighth Delhi Assembly earlier in the day.
"It is unfortunate the Delhi Assembly is being led by a party that is anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh. The BJP has removed photographs of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh from the chief minister's office, showing its anti-Dalit stance," she alleged in the Assembly.
In a press conference, Atishi showed a photo of the Chief Minister’s Office captured on an iPad, and said, "This is today’s photo when our MLAs went to meet the chief minister. The photos have been removed, which proves that the BJP is an anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh party."
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She alleged the BJP has "disrespected" Babasaheb and the Sikh community, by removing the portraits. The AAP strongly opposes this and will protest against it in the streets as well as in the Assembly, she added.
Kejriwal cries foul
AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said the move has hurt millions of Ambedkar followers.
"The new BJP government of Delhi removed Babasaheb's photograph and put up a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is not right. This has hurt millions of followers of Babasaheb," he said in a post on X.
"I have a request for the BJP. You can put up the prime minister's photograph but do not remove that of Babasaheb. Let it remain," he added.
‘Attempt to divert attention from CAG report’
Rejecting the charges, Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said "This is being done deliberately by the AAP to divert attention from the CAG report that will be presented tomorrow."
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He said the chief minister’s office still has pictures of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh, along with those of the prime minister, president, and Mahatma Gandhi. "This move is a clear attempt to distract the public," Sirsa said.
"When AAP was in power, it suppressed the CAG report for three years. Now, when it is about to be released, they are creating unnecessary drama. No one respects Babasaheb Ambedkar more than we (BJP) do," the minister added.
‘AAP scared’
Another minister in the BJP government, Ravinder Indraj, showed the portraits of Bhagat Singh and Ambedkar in the chief minister's office in Assembly Vidhan Sabha and said the AAP leaders were "scared" because the CAG reports are going to be tabled in the House on Tuesday.
"Most of their leaders were in jail on corruption charges and they fear that they might have to go again. Once the CAG report is out, they will have to face the consequences again. This is why they are acting out of desperation," Indraj said.
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Cabinet minister Parvesh Verma slammed the AAP, claiming the opposition party's MLAs disrupted the House, and "intruded" into the chief minister's office in the Assembly, and it is unacceptable.
"Over the past ten years, the Aam Aadmi Party has done nothing for the upliftment of Delhi. Today they have violated the dignity of the assembly," he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
