A 30-foot-tall cockroach effigy was burnt alongside those of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad during Dussehra celebrations organised by the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee in northwest Delhi on Tuesday, with organisers saying the initiative aimed to raise awareness about unhygienic surroundings and the spread of diseases.
The event, held at the DDA ground in Netaji Subhash Place, Pitampura, drew a large crowd, with the giant cockroach emerging as a major attraction. Ashok Goel Devraha, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Model Town and president of the committee, said the effigy symbolised the need to eliminate filth from homes, neighbourhoods and society. He said the committee had previously burnt symbolic effigies representing issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Naxalism and terrorism.
Artisan Shahwez Khan, whose family has been making effigies for generations, said the cockroach was a new addition this year. He said making the cockroach effigy took three to four days, while the traditional effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad took about a month to complete.
However, the move triggered a political controversy, with AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj filing a complaint with Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar against the organisers, including Devraha and Delhi minister Kapil Mishra. Bharadwaj accused them of “deliberately hurting religious sentiments, altering sacred Hindu traditions and attempting to incite enmity between communities”. He sought the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) and said his party would approach the court if no action was taken.
Meanwhile, individuals identifying themselves as members of the 'Lal Hit Janta Party' burnt effigies of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) activists and several public figures at the Preet Vihar-Chitra Vihar intersection in east Delhi. The effigies reportedly included CJP activists Abhijit Dipke and Saurabh Das, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, AISA president Neha Bora, actors Naseeruddin Shah and Prakash Raj, and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.
A member of the group described the figures as “anti-nationals”, accusing them of rejecting democratic institutions and pursuing regime change through protests and agitation.
BJP MP Arun Singh, Delhi Cabinet minister Kapil Mishra and Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Delhi unit president Kapil Khanna attended the Pitampura event. The organisers said the Dussehra celebrations were intended to reinforce the values of truth, duty and righteousness and promote cleanliness and social unity.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)