AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj files complaint over burning of cockroach effigy on Dussehra; BJP hits back with 'political termites' jibe

Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj filed a complaint with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and the Delhi Police Commissioner against the organisers of the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee in Pitampura, including its president and BJP MLA Ashok Goel, and Delhi minister Kapil Mishra over the planned burning of a cockroach effigy alongside those of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad during Dussehra.In a post on X, Bharadwaj accused the organisers of "deliberately hurting religious sentiments, altering sacred Hindu traditions and attempting to incite enmity between communities." He demanded an immediate FIR against organisers, including Goel and Mishra.

Bharadwaj also requested the immediate removal of the "offensive content" from media platforms.The event organisers, however, said the effigy was being burnt to raise awareness about filth and the health problems associated with cockroaches. Also Read | 30-foot cockroach effigy burnt at Ramlila event in Delhi; AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj files complaintIn his letter to the lieutenant governor and the police commissioner, Bharadwaj described the burning of a 30-foot cockroach effigy during Dussehra celebrations as a deeply disturbing act by the organisers of the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee.

He urged the authorities to take immediate action to prevent what he termed an insult to Hindu religion and Sanatani customs.Sharing the letter on X, Bharadwaj wrote: "MLA & Minister of BJP cannot use my Hindu religion for their cheap politics against GenZ. They cannot demean our thousand years old sanatan customs by making it a joke. RSS can’t sit quite on this blasphemy."Kapil Mishra defends burning cockroach effigy along side Ravana'sMishra has defended the burning of the cockroach effigy during Ravana Dahan celebrations on Dussehra and said the "political termites" of the country are in pain over the same.Speaking to reporters, Mishra said, according to news agency ANI, "The effigy being burnt is that of a cockroach, yet it is the 'termites'—the political termites of this nation—who are feeling the pain.

The public has its own unique 'pesticide' to deal with them. A cockroach is a symbol of filth and chaos... the people want such effigies to be burnt; just as anti-national forces emerge, their defeat in India is inevitable."