BJP asking puja organisers to place Modi's photo beside Goddess Durga's idol: AAP's Bharadwaj

New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday accused the BJP of "politicising faith" by directing Durga Puja organisers to place Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo beside Goddess Durga's idol.

Bharadwaj alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's "diktat" has angered the Bengali community, asserting that their faith "cannot be bought with 1,200 units of free electricity".

Hitting back, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, "AAP Delhi convener Saurabh Bharadwaj and other leaders have a phobia of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name. The moment they hear his name, they lose their balance." Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj said, "A large Bengali community lives in Delhi and every year grand Durga Puja celebrations are organised in areas like Chittaranjan Park, Rohini, Dwarka, Greater Kailash and others. To hold these celebrations, Puja committees have to obtain permissions from several departments. But under the BJP government, arrangements have been disrupted and committees are receiving no cooperation." He claimed that Gupta has ordered that pictures of the prime minister must be placed during Durga Puja. "Before Modi, many prime ministers held this post, but no CM has ever ordered that their photos be placed with Goddess Durga," he said.

Releasing photographs of large hoardings of former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal displayed at Chhath Puja venues, Kapoor asked, "If putting up Kejriwal's pictures was right, then how can it be wrong to put up photos of BJP leaders today?" Kapoor asserted that the Delhi government under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is committed to giving direct financial assistance to organisers of Kanwar Yatra, Ramlila, Durga Puja and Chhath festivals. PTI SLB KSS KSS