Arvind Kejriwal scoffs at 'soft Hindutva' charge; affirms 'nothing wrong in temple visit'

Speaking to the media in Goa on Sunday, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal refuted the allegation that he was practising 'soft Hindutva'. During his previous visit to the state, the Delhi CM had promised free pilgrimage to Ayodhya, Shirdi, Velankanni and Ajmer Sharif if AAP wins the upcoming Assembly polls. Asserting his Hindu faith, he maintained that there was nothing wrong in visiting a temple. 

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal remarked, "Do you go to the temple? Even I go. There is nothing wrong in visiting a temple. Everyone goes. We get peace by visiting temples. So what is wrong with this? I don't know what problem those people have."

He added, "I am a Hindu. I go to Ram temple, Hanuman temple. My wife is a devotee of Lord Shiva. She goes to the Gaurishankar Mandir every week. I don't know why anyone has a problem with it. What is the issue?"

Arvind Kejriwal plays religion card?

In the run-up to the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, Arvind Kejriwal sparked a buzz by publicly reciting the Hanuman Chalisa. While the opposition dubbed this as an attempt to influence voters on religious lines, he went one step further by invoking Lord Hanuman in his election victory speech. He affirmed, “This is the day of Lord Hanuman who has blessed the people of Delhi. We pray that Hanuman Ji keeps showing the right path to us so that we continue to serve people for the next five years".

Amid his party's foray into UP polls, he offered prayers at Hanuman Garhi temple and Ram Janmbhoomi in Ayodhya on October 26. On November 4, Kejriwal publicly celebrated Diwali along with other Ministers by participating in religious rituals at Delhi's Thyagaraj Sports Complex where a temporary structure resembling the Ram Temple was set up. In 2020 as well, the AAP government had organised a similar event at the Akshardham temple.

Already, it has launched the Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojna which entails people aged 60 and above and their attendants to go on a free pilgrimage to places such as Vaishno Devi, Shirdi, Rameswaram, Dwarka, Puri, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura, Vrindavan and Ayodhya. Kejriwal and many other leaders of his party also attracted criticism for their stance on the Shaheen Bagh protests and the incendiary slogans chanted against Muslims at Jantar Mantar on August 8. AAP's public invocation of religion is being perceived as a ploy to woo the Hindu voters at a juncture when it is seeking to expand its presence across India.