New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal today said that he will move to the Election Commission against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s advertisement attacking his 'gotra' or community.
“This is unacceptable and they should apologise from the entire community. We will complain to EC that BJP has stooped down to racial attacks. Delhi's people do not like this abusive politics,” Kejriwal said.
The saffron party has released an advertisement today targeting Kejriwal for threatening to disrupt the Republic Day parade last year while complaining this year that he was not been invited for the event.
"Desh ke karodon log gantantra divas ko rashtriya parv mante hain, us par garv karte hain (The country's crores of people consider Republic Day as a national festival and feel proud about it). Aur apka updravi gotra isme vyavdhan dalne ko taiyar tha (And your trouble maker community was ready to disrupt it),” it reads.
Kejriwal added: “BJP in the past few days has been giving few advertisements personally attacking me. They attacked me and my children, I kept quiet because Anna used to say that if someone personally attacks you, you should have the strength to bear it. But today they have crossed their limit. They have called the entire community 'updravi'. BJP's fight is with me, whatever they have to say they should say it against me, they should not attack the entire Aggarwal community.”
Kejriwal has often described himself as a ‘baniya' to reach out to traders' community, which have traditionally supported BJP.
With only five days left for elections in Delhi, the poster war has escalated between the BJP and AAP with the both parties resorting to personal attacks on their opponents.
Yesterday, the BJP had released another advertisement against Kejriwal mocking the former CM for a pre-poll promise made by him during the last Delhi Assembly elections in December 2013. BJP ridiculed his promise that he wouldn't accept government bungalow if he came to power.
In last elections, Kejriwal had said that he would not accept government accommodation but later he had accepted a government bungalow after becoming the Chief Minister.
The advertisement also appealed to electorate not to vote for the AAP on false promises and vote for BJP to enable it to form a majority government in the state.
Earlier, the saffron party had unveiled an advertisement showing Kejriwal taking a vow on the heads of two children, as a woman with a Congress cap watches coyly.
The BJP has targeted the AAP for labeling its chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi as an ‘opportunist' and projecting Kejriwal as ‘honest' in its poll ads.
The elections to 70-member Delhi Assembly will take place on February 7 and the results will be declared on February 10.
Kejriwal had quit as Delhi CM February 14 last year after failing to pass the anti-graft Jan Lokpal Bill in the Assembly. President's rule was imposed on February 17. In the 2013 polls, the BJP had bagged 31 seats and the AAP 28.
