After an acrimonious poll campaign, the war of words between leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party continued on Saturday even as people came out to cast their votes in the Delhi assembly elections.
Manoj Tiwari, the chief of the BJP’s Delhi unit, targeted chief minister Arvind Kejriwal over his temple visit.
Kejriwal, who leads the AAP, had offered prayers at the famous Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place along with his wife Sunita on Friday. Tiwari had also visited the Chhatarpur and Kalkaji temples.
On Saturday, Manoj Tiwari criticised Kejriwal for what he said was sacrilege.
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“Did he (Arvind Kejriwal) go to worship or defile Hanuman ji? He took a garland with the same hands he used to take his shoes off… What has he done?” the BJP leader said, according to news agency ANI.
“This is what happens when fake devotees come. I told pandit ji, he washed Hanuman ji a number of times,” he added.
Kejriwal tweeted soon after to keep to counter the view.
“Ever since I read Hanuman Chalisa on a TV channel, the BJP people are constantly mocking me. Yesterday, I went to the Hanuman Temple. Today BJP leaders are saying that the temple was defiled by my presence,” the Delhi chief minister tweeted in Hindi.
“What kind of politics is this? God belongs to everyone. May god bless everyone, even those in the BJP,” he added.
The high-pitch election campaign for the Delhi assembly election 2020 saw the BJP’s campaign, piloted by Union home minister Amit Shah, around a sharp attack on the AAP for what it alleged was support for the Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
{{/usCountry}}The high-pitch election campaign for the Delhi assembly election 2020 saw the BJP’s campaign, piloted by Union home minister Amit Shah, around a sharp attack on the AAP for what it alleged was support for the Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
{{/usCountry}}Shah and other BJP leaders alleged that the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal were encouraging violence, anarchy and anti-national elements.
As the AAP deflected the charges, it also highlighted its local governance record and claimed to have improved government schools, public health facilities, electricity and water supply at subsidised rates, among other issues.
Polling is underway in 70 constituencies in the Delhi assembly elections and the votes will be counted on February 11.