AAP, BJP spar over Modi posters drive

Posters asking whether the country needed an educated Prime Minister emerged in several parts of the Capital on Thursday, a week after AAP launched its Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao” (remove Modi, save India) posters. AAP leader and Delhi minister Gopal Rai said similar posters, in 11 languages, are being put up by the party in 22 states

The Aam Aadmi Party intensified its poster war targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that these would only enhance the latter’s popularity.

Posters affixed outside the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI)

Posters asking whether the country needed an educated Prime Minister emerged in several parts of the Capital on Thursday, a week after AAP launched its Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao” (remove Modi, save India) posters. AAP leader and Delhi minister Gopal Rai said similar posters, in 11 languages, are being put up by the party in 22 states. He added that the party would also put up similar posters in universities across India from April 10.

Last week, the BJP responded to the poster campaign with one of its own, saying “Kejriwal Hatao, Delhi Bachao” (remove Kejriwal, save Delhi) . They described Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal as a “dishonest, corrupt dictator”.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh said “it has become a crime to ask if the PM of the country should be educated”.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana took to Twitter to respond to AAP: “Kejriwal sahab, the more propaganda against the Prime Minister you engage in, attack him, the more his popularity increases; we have experienced this over the last few years. Remember this.”

After the posters emerged last week, Delhi Police said they filed 185 cases and arrested six people on March 22 (CHECK) while they were delivering the posters to AAP offices on, prompting Kejriwal to compare the police action to censorship during British rule.

The cases were registered under the Press and Registration of Books Act’s Section 12, which says every book or paper printed in India shall mention the name of the printer and the place of printing clearly, and the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act’s Section 3 that relates to the defacing of property.

The six people who were arrested were released on bail after few hours.

Condemning the action, AAP’s Rai on Thursday said that the arrests were a “direct assault on India’s democratic structure”.

BJP’s Khurana said, “The people of this country are not going to tolerate their PM being called uneducated. I can guarantee that AAP is not going to win even a single of the seven Delhi seats in the (2024) Lok Sabha polls.”