On March 14, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Kapil Mishra and Tajinder Bagga expressed their happiness and hailed Kejriwal for his decision to celebrate Bhavya Ram Mandir and remind people of barbaric Mughal history. In a sarcastic video message, they said, “We are here to thank Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal. He has announced that he will take the elders in Delhi for ‘darshan’ once Bhavya Ram Mandir is constructed in Ayodhya after the demolition of Babri Masjid.”
https://twitter.com/KapilMishra_IND/status/1371100237368946688?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThey further added that by taking the elders to Ayodhya by using the Delhi government’s funds, CM Kejriwal would remind people of the atrocities of Aurangzeb against Hindus. It will also remind people of the struggle Hindus to have to go through to reclaim the land and construct Bhavya Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. “We thank Arvind Kejriwal and hope he will take more initiatives like this for Hindus in future. It will be a slap on the face of those who supported Babri Masjid,” Bagga and Mishra added.
The cryptic message was sarcasm on Kejriwal
On the first look, it may look like the BJP leaders are praising the opposition leader for his announcement that the Delhi government would facilitate darshan for elders in Ayodhya once the construction of Bhavya Ram Mandir is complete. However, it is more of a sarcastic comment on Kejriwal, who had supported Babri Masjid on several occasions.
Kejriwal, in 2014 said in a rally that Ram could not live in a temple that is constructed after demolishing a mosque. He narrated a possibly made-up story of a conversation between his grandmother and him. He had claimed, “When the Babri Masjid was demolished, I asked my grandmother that she must be happy. A temple for her Bhagwan Ram will be constructed in Ayodhya. To which she replied, my Ram will not live in a temple that is constructed by demolishing a mosque.”
This is the same Kejriwal who in 2015 attacked BJP for not giving the date of Ram Mandir. He said, “They always say they will construct a temple in Ayodhya but never tell the date when it will be constructed.”
In 2016, while attacking BJP, he posted a derogatory cartoon mocking Bhagwan Hanuman.
https://twitter.com/varunpuri1984/status/1369638884468924417?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwIn 2018, Kejriwal said that by constructing the temple, no one could assure progress. He dragged Jawaharlal Nehru in his speech and said, “I was thinking if Nehru had constructed temple instead of constructing steel authority of India, would India be able to progress?
Reactions from netizens
Netizens mocked Kejriwal for his u-turn on the temple. Some even called him a chameleon.
https://twitter.com/jkd18/status/1371132728758792193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/Anupdesh_UC/status/1371102660204634117?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/IAmCreator88888/status/1371101744332034053?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/Shailen55750020/status/1369812835883130889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/parassony/status/1371171702940438528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/Bosshos68074292/status/1371112964720312323?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwNetizens expect that Kejriwal will again make a u-turn from his statement.