The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday targeted the BJP over a video allegedly showing a person dressed as Lord Hanuman dancing in front of BJP national president Nitin Nabin’s cavalcade in Lucknow, accusing the party of insulting Hindu religious sentiments.
Sharing the video on X, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the BJP had caused unprecedented harm to Hinduism.
“The kind of damage and disrespect you have shown towards Hinduism has perhaps not been seen even in 5,000 years of India’s history, not even by foreign invaders. You have looted Hindus like no one else has. You are a stain on Hinduism,” Kejriwal wrote.
Referring to the video, he added, “What are you doing? Aren’t you ashamed? Apologise to the entire Hindu community.”
In another post, Kejriwal contrasted what he described as two ideologies.
“Our ideology is that we are devotees of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman. We worship them, bow before them and seek their blessings. Their ideology is that they do not treat Ram and Hanuman as deities. For them, Ram and Hanuman are merely a means to gain power and money. They have no hesitation in disrespecting God,” he said.
Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj also demanded an apology from Nabin and the BJP.
“My religious sentiments, like those of millions of Hindus, have been hurt. This is a direct insult to my religion and to Lord Hanuman. I request Nitin Nabin to apologise and seek forgiveness at a Hanuman temple. I also urge the BJP to apologise as a party,” Bharadwaj posted on X.
Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Atishi questioned Chief Minister Rekha Gupta over her silence on the issue. In separate posts, she alleged that the BJP president considered himself “greater than Lord Hanuman” by making the deity perform with a BJP flag before his convoy.
In another post directed at Delhi minister Parvesh Sahib Singh, she said Lord Hanuman is revered by millions of Hindus and accused the BJP of disrespecting the deity by using the image for political purposes.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also criticised the BJP, alleging that it was reducing Hinduism to partisan politics.
“What kind of joke is this? BJP leaders are making Lord Hanuman dance in their procession while carrying the BJP flag. If this continues, BJP will replace Hinduism with ‘BJP Dharma’, declare its leaders as gods and ask people to worship them,” Singh said in a post on X.
