New Delhi [India], January 21 : A day after Arvind Kejriwal allegedly misquoted the Ramayana, Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Hardeep Singh Puri questioned whether the AAP leader understands the basics of the Hindu epic.
"I think he (Arvind Kejriwal) does not understand the basics of Ramayana. Second thing is that they become close to anyone, but now they are abusing Sikhs. If you want to abuse me, do that but why are you abusing the Sikh community," Puri told ANI during an interview.
The union minister further accused Kejriwal of abusing the Sikh community, questioning how the party leader's credibility has fallen since the inception of the party.
"Kejriwal, many good people were associated with you when your movement against corruption started, but now they have recognised you and they could not stay with you for long...Kejriwal's credibility quotient is zero," Puri added.
Puri commented on the state of the Delhi economy, claiming that while the country as a whole has improved its economy, whereas Delhi has lagged behind. He called the upcoming elections as an important step for correcting that.
"In the almost 11 years of PM Modi, the country has been moving ahead. Now it has become a four trillion-dollar economy and India has jumped from the 11th position to the 5th position. If we look at the IMF data, India has become the fourth-largest economy but the Delhi government has lagged behind. So, in the coming times, to develop Delhi, to provide facilities to the citizens of Delhi, the election becomes very important for that correction..."
Earlier on January 20, Kejriwal compared BJP to the golden deer in Ramayan, related to to the incident of 'Sita-Haran,' warning people of not coming into the party's "trap."
"One day Ram went to arrange for food, and had mata Sita at the hut while he told Lakshman to protect Sita, then in between Ravan came in by becoming a golden deer. Sita told Lakshman that I want that deer, giving him an order. But then Ravan came and took away Sita. BJP is also just like that golden deer, don't come into their trap," Kejriwal said during his address.
Since then, BJP has accused Kejriwal of being a "Chunavi Hindu," being a Hindu just during elections. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari called Kejriwal a "Chunavi Hindu."
Speaking to ANI, Pradeep Bhandari said, "Arvind Kejriwal is a 'Chunavi' Hindu. Appeasement runs in his and his boss Rahul Gandhi's veins. He has little knowledge of Ramayana and could not recite it properly... He says that his grandmother used to say that Lord Ram's temple should not be built in Ayodhya. He said that all the land in Delhi should be given to Waqf. The 'Chunavi' Hindu face of Arvind Kejriwal has been exposed in front of the people of Delhi and the country...".
BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, said that the entire Hindu community is embarrassed by Kejriwal's actions, and he should perform sit-ups as an act of repentance.
Addressing a press conference here today, Gupta said that the AAP Chief has become a "laughing stock".
"Kejriwal has become a laughing stock. The kind of comments he made about the Ramayana suggests that he has never even attended a Ramleela. He doesn't understand the significance of Sita's abduction and lacks the reasoning to explain it. Today, AAP's leadership has been completely exposed. People now understand that going to temples and performing rituals was just for show," he said.
"The entire Hindu community is embarrassed by your actions, as there is a person among us who knows nothing about Ram. Kejriwal should apologize to the people of the country and Delhi. He should do sit-ups as an act of repentance," the BJP leader added.