Taking the Aam Aadmi Party’s politics of ‘Hanuman bhakti’ a notch higher, party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the Delhi government will organise ‘Sundarkand’ performances across the city.
The Chief Minister made the announcement at a Delhi government-sponsored “grand event” at Gole Market, which was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and other AAP leaders. They performed pooja and offered prayers on the occasion of ‘Hanuman Janmotsav’. The leaders also watched a theatrical presentation of Sundarkand at the event.
“This year, we are commencing a new practice of organising Sundarkand paath and manchan. New Delhi Vidhan Sabha marks the beginning of this novel tradition, which people will get to witness for the first time today, and throughout Delhi in the coming future,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
The AAP chief said this performance will be showcased at various locations in Delhi to make the residents more aware of the life and lessons of Lord Hanuman and become more devoted followers.
Communal harmony
Earlier in the day, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj organised a ‘Shobha Yatra’ and said a standout feature of the procession was Muslims coming out to celebrate and distribute prasad even when they were fasting themselves.
He also tweeted photos of men wearing skullcaps being part of the yatra. “Such processions don’t create an atmosphere of fear for any other religion, but create an atmosphere of love and harmony in society,” the AAP leader said.
Temple visits
Lord Hanuman has been a part of AAP’s politics for a long time. With barely a week to go for the 2020 Delhi Assembly election, Mr. Kejriwal had recited the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ during a TV interview. He later said he would make all BJP leaders recite the Chalisa as they are “fake Hindus” and do not know it.
The day the party won the Delhi Assembly election, Mr. Kejriwal visited the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place, a practice he repeated when the party won the Punjab Assembly election earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta visited the same temple on Saturday. “On the auspicious occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, visited the Hanuman Mandir at Connaught Place today and prayed for the prosperity of all Indians. Jai Shri Ram!” he tweeted in Hindi.
Delhi Congress workers, led by Pradesh Congress Committee president Anil Kumar, celebrated ‘Hanuman Jayanti’ by organising a pooja and distributing prasad at the party office.
Mr. Kumar said the country was going through a difficult phase due to price rise and social tensions created by those in power. He said he prayed to Lord Hanuman to bring peace and prosperity to the lives of all the people.
