New Delhi: Activists of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, staged a demonstration Wednesday near the Pakistan Embassy here in protest against the demolition of a two-year-old statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore.
Delhi BJP president Aadesh Gupta, Sardar RP Singh, Rajiv Babbar, Ashok Goyal and office-bearers of the BJYM were among those present.
The BJYM office-bearers first gathered near Teen Murti and from there they reached the Pakistan Embassy. When the security personnel stationed there stopped them, there was a light scuffle. The protesters tried to burn an effigy of the Pakistan Prime Minister they had brought with them, but were stopped by the security personnel.
State BJP president Aadesh Gupta said that the demolition of the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore speaks volumes about the distorted mentality of the Pakistan government. He said that there has been resentment among the Sikh community following the incident.
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“This is not the first time but the third time that this has happened,” Gupta said. “Pakistan calls itself a democratic country. But the whole world is watching it. There is a lot of resentment among the people over this incident, and that's why BJP workers have gathered here at the Pakistan Embassy.”
The Sikh community of Delhi had expressed their displeasure when they got the information about the incident Tuesday. Leaders of the Sikh community in Delhi as well as those of Sikhs living in Pakistan have demanded that the central government intervene in this matter.
A nine-foot statue was unveiled at Lahore Fort in June 2019 on the 180th death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It depicts Ranjit Singh sitting on a horse, holding a sword in his hand and in Sikh attire. The first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire ruled over a large part of the Indian subcontinent, including Punjab, for about 40 years.
