A 30-foot-high effigy of a cockroach at a Ramlila triggered a political war of words between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

Also Read: Delhi Ramlila to burn 30-foot ‘cockroach’ effigy alongside Ravan

Meanwhile, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke thanked organisers for giving them “free publicity”. The effigy was set on fire later in the evening. 

Earlier in the day, the AAP filed a complaint with the Lieutenant Governor, T.S. Sandhu and the Delhi Police against the organisers of the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee (NSP Pitampura), including its president and BJP MLA Ashok Goel, and also against Labour Minister Kapil Mishra for allegedly deliberately hurting religious sentiments by introducing and planning to burn a 30-foot cockroach effigy alongside the traditional effigies of Ravana. 

Mr. Goel claimed that they were burning the effigy of the cockroach as a symbol of burning “filth”, and Aam Aadmi Party Delhi unit president, Saurabh Bharadwaj, was frustrated with losing power in Delhi. 

Attacking the AAP, Mr. Mishra said, “The cockroach’s puppet is burning, and the termites are in pain.”

He alleged that Naxalites and corrupt forces have gathered together to hatch conspiracies against the country. “But just as truth’s victory happens, untruth’s defeat happens in the same way; the defeat of these anti-country forces in India is certain,” Mr. Mishra said. 

In his letter, Mr. Bharadwaj requested to register a First Information Report (FIR) under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and initiate immediate administrative and legal measures. 

“Deliberate alteration of Sanatan customs and hurting of religious sentiments: The festival of Dussehra, or Vijayadashami, is a highly sacred event governed by ancient Hindu rituals, scriptures and longstanding traditions. The burning of effigies is associated with specific mythological figures representing particular forms of evil, as described in the Ramayana. The unauthorised addition of an insect-themed effigy to a religious ritual distorts sacred traditions, mocks the solemnity of Sanatan customs and deeply hurts the religious sentiments of the Hindu community,” Mr. Bharadwaj said.