NEW DELHI: A day after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced free pilgrimage to the Ram temple in Ayodhya for senior citizens of Delhi, the BJP on Thursday accused him of using Lord Ram’s name to mislead the residents of the national capital. Hitting back at the accusation, the ruling AAP said the BJP’s opposition to the government scheme was “beyond comprehension” and that the announcement was made in view of public sentiment. Kejriwal announced the free pilgrimage scheme for the elderly on Wednesday while addressing the Delhi Assembly.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “The truth is that Arvind Kejriwal uses names of Shri Ram and Hanuman for political purposes to mislead people.” He said the chief minister’s statement in the assembly calling himself a devotee of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman was a “laughable gimmick”. Kapoor claimed Kejriwal had never been to Ayodhya for ‘darshan’. “Neither he nor his party has made any contribution to the construction of the Shri Ram temple at Ayodhya,” he said.
He further alleged that the Kejriwal government got a Hanuman temple in Chandni Chowk demolished and was not regularising the one that has come up in its place. AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said the BJP’s opposition to the Ayodhya pilgrimage scheme was “beyond comprehension”. “We used to think that at least some people in the BJP would praise the pilgrimage scheme but instead they have got upset with this announcement,” Bhardwaj said.
“Let us know if Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta has never taken his parents on a pilgrimage. The Delhi government will take care of their free pilgrimage,” he added. BJP hit back at Bhardwaj and asked Kejriwal to take disciplinary action for making personal comments against Gupta’s parents.