The political clash between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) escalated following allegations that the BJP-led Delhi government had removed photographs of Dr. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from the Chief Minister’s office. In response, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari accused AAP of spreading confusion and failing to govern Delhi for the past 11 years.
“These (AAP) are the people who ruined Delhi in the last 11 years. Now, they have no other way except to spread confusion, but Delhi is not going to be confused. We are the people who follow the path of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh ji,” Tiwari told ANI. He further added, “Wo log chitr to lagate rahe lekin charitra nahi tha unmein (Those people kept putting up pictures but they did not have character).”
AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, however, claimed that the new BJP-led government had hurt millions of Ambedkar followers by removing the photograph of the country’s first Law Minister from the Delhi Chief Minister’s office. “The new BJP government of Delhi removed Babasaheb’s photo and put up the photo of Prime Minister Modi. This is not right. This has hurt millions of followers of Babasaheb,” Kejriwal posted on X, urging the BJP to keep Ambedkar’s photo intact.
Former Delhi Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition, Atishi, accused the BJP of harboring an “anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh mentality,” adding, “BJP has shown its true anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh face. Photos of Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh have been removed from the Chief Minister’s Office of Delhi Legislative Assembly.”
In response, the Delhi unit of BJP rejected these claims, posting pictures of Delhi CM Rekha Gupta’s chambers, which showed portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, as well as the President and Prime Minister. The BJP stressed that the portraits were present in the CM’s chambers despite the opposition’s allegations.