BJP Protests Outside Delhi State Chief Arvind Kejriwal’s Residence Over His 'Kashmir Files' Remarks

The Bollywood movie ‘The Kashmir Files’ on exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, has triggered a political debate in India. PM Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been praising the movie while the opposition has accused the party of not doing enough for the Kashmiri Pandits.

The political slugfest over ‘The Kashmir Files’ intensified on Wednesday when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a protest outside Delhi State Chief Arvind Kejriwal’s residence over his statement calling the movie “a lie" and allegedly making fun of the film in the Delhi assembly.

Led by BJP's national youth wing president and parliamentarian Tejasvi Surya, the protest was attended by the party’s national youth wing secretary Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga along with hundreds of party workers.

BJP's Youth Wing National President Tejasvi Surya and National Secretary Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga During Protest against Delhi State Chief Arvind Kejriwal

© Sputnik / Rahul Trivedi

In a tweet, Surya demanded an apology from Delhi chief and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) head Kejriwal over his remarks.

Surya tweeted: "Kejriwal will have to apologise for insulting the Hindus of the country and the [BJP's] Yuva Morcha will not spare him until he apologises."

BJP Youth Wing President Tejasvi Surya Demands Apology from Arvind Kejriwal for Mocking Kashmiri Pandits

© Photo : Twitter/@Tejasvi_Surya

Later, talking to Sputnik, BJP's youth wing secretary Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga accused Kejriwal of having made fun of one of the biggest massacres (referring to the killing of Kashmir Pandits in the 1990s) that has happened in the country since 1947.

"More than 500,000 Kashmir Pandits had to leave the Valley following the violence against them. It is for the first time that someone has shown the plight of Kashmiri Hindus and instead of supporting it he is mocking the Hindus.”

“Congress chief Sonia Gandhi did the same thing in 2007 by denying the existence of Lord Rama and now the Congress is in shambles. In the same manner, now Kejriwal will also see a similar decline,” he added.

Asked about Kejriwal's claim that the BJP has done nothing for the Kashmiri Pandits except promoting the movie, Bagga said: "Everyone knows what the BJP government has done for them, we don’t want to publicise it."

“He can make any false claims but no one has authorised him to make fun of the sufferings of the Kashmiri Pandits,” he added.

BJP Members Protesting Outside Arvind Kejriwal's Residence over His Remark on The Kashmir Files

© Sputnik / Rahul Trivedi

The protest march, which started from the city's I.P. College, turned violent after the participants were stopped by police while damaging the barricades and marching towards Kejriwal’s official residence at Raj Niwas Marg.

Following this, the police had to use water cannons on the protesters and detain several BJP members including the party's youth wing president Surya.

The protesters were stopped a few meters away from Kejriwal's residence but they broke the barricades. Meanwhile, the AAP accused the BJP workers of vandalising Kejriwal’s residence and trying to kill him.

Aam Aadmi Party Accused BJP of Vandilising Arvind Kejriwal's Residence

© Photo : Twitter/@AamAadmiParty

Several AAP politicians reacted sharply to the incident.

Delhi’s Deputy State Chief Manish Sisodia said in a tweet in Hindi: “Some anti-social elements attacked the residence of Arvind Kejriwal, and broke the CCTV cameras and barricades.”

He further claimed that the BJP "goons" continued to vandalise the residence of Kejriwal, while the Delhi Police escorted them to the gates instead of stopping them.

Delhi's Deputy State Chief Manish Sisodia Condemns Act of Vandalisation by BJP Workers

© Photo : Twitter/@msisodia

AAP legislator Atishi Marlena also took to Twitter to condemn the act.

AAP Legislator Atishi Marlena Condemns Rampage by BJP Workers at Arvind Kejriwal's Residence

© Photo : Twitter/@AtishiAAP

AAP lawmaker Raghav Chadha said in a tweet in Hindi: “The attack on Arvind Kejriwal’s residence by BJP goons is highly condemnable. They broke barricades and CCTV cameras in the presence of police. Frustrated by the defeat in the Punjab assembly polls, the BJP has stooped so low.”

AAP Lawmaker Raghav Chadha Accuses BJP of Vandalising Residence of Arvind Kejriwal

© Photo : Twitter/@raghav_chadha

Deputy State Chief and AAP politician Sisodia even addressed a press conference after the incident and claimed that the BJP wanted to kill Kejriwal because they couldn’t defeat them in the polls.

केजरीवाल जी की हत्या करवाना चाहती है BJP! - Dy CM @msisodia | LIVE #BJPKeGunde https://t.co/qiMBpqKQ8B

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) March 30, 2022

He also said if the BJP tried to touch Kejriwal, the whole country would teach them a lesson.

पंजाब में खु़द की हार और आम आदमी पार्टी की प्रचंड जीत से पूरी तरह बौखला गई है बीजेपी।

भाजपा वालों, अरविंद केजरीवाल जी को हाथ लगाने की कोशिश मत करना, देश बर्दाश्त नहीं करेगा!

- Dy. CM @msisodia #BJPKeGunde pic.twitter.com/b7PSEcU623

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) March 30, 2022

Tussle Between BJP, AAP over 'The Kashmir Files'

The political tension between the BJP and AAP erupted after Kejriwal said in the legislative assembly that the movie was a lie and refused to declare it tax-free in the capital city.

"They (BJP) are demanding the movie be declared tax-free in Delhi. Upload it on YouTube, the movie will become free and everyone will be able to watch it. Some people are earning crores (millions of rupees) in the name of Kashmiri Pandits and you have been sticking posters of the film," Kejriwal had stated in the Delhi legislative assembly last week.

Reacting to this, the BJP accused him of "mocking" the pain of Kashmiri Pandits and branding the movie a lie.

Released on 11 March, ‘The Kashmir Files’ is a Bollywood movie based on the real story of the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from the valley in 1990s. Thousands of families of Kashmiri Pandits fled the Kashmir Valley due to escalating violence from Islamist insurgents against them.