Amid the row over Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's photo on the wall with legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and BR Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh's grandnephew Yadvinder Sandhu said that he felt awful after watching that. He further asked the Aam Aadmi Party to refrain from such activities.
“This morning, a video of Sunita Kejriwal (wife of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal) came in which a photo of Arvind Kejriwal was put on the wall along with Bhagat Singh and Baba Saheb Ambedkar. I felt awful after watching this. An attempt was made to compare him with the legends, I would ask the Aam Aadmi Party to refrain from such activities,” Sandhu said.
Yadvinder Singh Sandhu is the grandson of Bhagat Singh's younger brother Kulbir Singh. He said that politics in today's time has turned personal and Bhagat Singh's contribution to the country was not personal. Sandhu further stated that no leader should be compared with Bhagat Singh and if AAP has done this by mistake, they need to correct it and remove Kejriwal's photo.
"If we look at the politics of today, it is turning personal. Politics is being done for personal benefit...Any leader should not be compared with him (Bhagat Singh)...Bhagat Singh's contribution was for the country and society. It wasn't personal...If AAP has done this by mistake, they need to correct it and remove the photo (of Arvind Kejriwal) placed between Dr BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh," Sandhu said.
During a digital briefing by Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal, the background had portraits of Bhagat Singh and BR Ambedkar, flanking a photograph of the Delhi chief minister in jail.
A war of words erupted on Thursday over a photograph of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal behind bars being flanked by portraits of Bhagat Singh and BR Ambedkar, with the BJP demanding its immediate removal. Sunita Kejriwal on Thursday conveyed to AAP MLAs the chief minister's message from Tihar jail in a digital briefing.
The backdrop drew sharp criticism from the BJP, which accused the AAP of hurting people's sentiments and demanded that Kejriwal's photograph be immediately removed.
"Kejriwal is a corruption accused and by putting up his photograph between those of patriots such as Shaheed-e-Azam (Bharat Singh) and Dr Ambedkar, the AAP has insulted their dignity," alleged Virendra Sachdeva, the BJP's Delhi unit chief, as quoted by PTI.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh asked why one can not put a photo with Bhagat Singh. "What is the issue here? Arvind Kejriwal is the party convener. What is the problem if his photo is there with Bhagat Singh or Ambedkar? We are only trying to follow in their footsteps, we are not saying we are equals. People take selfies with the statues of Bhagat Singh, Netaji, and Ambedkar. Even in election campaigns, politicians post photos with such legends," Singh said, as per a Hindustan Times report.
Senior AAP leader Atishi alleged that the BJP-led Centre has sent Kejriwal to jail under false charges. Speaking to reporters, Atishi said, "Kejriwal is the symbol of the current struggle against the BJP's dictatorship. His photograph at our offices is to remind us that the struggle against the BJP is no less than the freedom movement," as quoted by PTI.
"There was a time when people of the country fought against the British rulers. Now we are struggling against the 'dictatorship' of the BJP," she said.
On the other hand, the saffron party said that the AAP should be "ashamed" of itself for putting up Kejriwal's photograph among the portraits of patriots. The AAP has been constantly degrading "political decorum" by allowing the jailed chief minister's wife to sit and issue political messages from his "official room and chair", Sachdeva said.
Kejriwal is in judicial custody till April 15 in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy.