New Delhi: A war of words erupted on Thursday over a photograph of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal behind bars being flanked by portraits of Bhagat Singh and BR Ambedkar, with the BJP demanding its immediate removal. During a digital briefing by Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal, the background had portraits of Bhagat Singh and BR Ambedkar, flanking a photograph of the Delhi chief minister in jail.
Sunita Kejriwal on Thursday conveyed to AAP MLAs the chief minister's message from Tihar jail in a digital briefing. The backdrop drew sharp criticism from the BJP, which accused the AAP of hurting people's sentiments and demanded that Kejriwal's photograph be immediately removed.
"Kejriwal is a corruption accused and by putting up his photograph between those of patriots such as Shaheed-e-Azam (Bharat Singh) and Dr Ambedkar, the AAP has insulted their dignity," alleged Virendra Sachdeva, the BJP's Delhi unit chief. Senior AAP leader Atishi, on the other hand, alleged that the BJP-led Centre has sent Kejriwal to jail under false charges.
"Kejriwal is the symbol of the current struggle against the BJP's dictatorship. His photograph at our offices is to remind us that the struggle against the BJP is no less than the freedom movement," she told reporters. "There was a time when people of the country fought against the British rulers. Now we are struggling against the 'dictatorship' of the BJP," she said.
The BJP, on the other hand, said the AAP should be "ashamed" of itself for putting up Kejriwal's photograph among the portraits of patriots. The AAP has been constantly degrading "political decorum" by allowing the jailed chief minister's wife to sit and issue political messages from his "official room and chair", Sachdeva said.
Since Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21, Sunita Kejriwal has been attending digital briefings with large Tricolours and portraits of Singh and Ambedkar in the background, similar to the backdrop used during Kejriwal's online briefings. Kejriwal is in judicial custody till April 15 in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy.
