BJP slams Kejriwal over Sundarkand event, calls him 'chunavi Hindu'

New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) The BJP on Sunday criticised AAP's Sundarkand event, organised to launch a signature campaign, calling it a "gimmick" by Arvind Kejriwal aimed at gaining electoral advantages in the upcoming state elections. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday launched the nationwide signature campaign demanding strict punishment for those involved in the alleged donation theft at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The campaign was kicked off with the recitation of 'Sundarkand' in the presence of party convener Arvind Kejriwal in Rohini. Sundarkand is a chapter of Ramcharitmanas dedicated to Lord Hanuman. Kejriwal said the campaign was being launched with the blessings of Lord Hanuman and appealed to people to participate by signing letters addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking strict action against those responsible for what the party termed "chanda-chori" at the temple. Delhi BJP President Harsh Malhotra described Kejriwal's Sundarkand recitation as nothing more than a "political gimmick" intended to bolster his political fortunes. Malhotra accused Kejriwal of "insulting" the Hindu faith by displaying his "hypocritical devotion" in the name of Lord Hanuman and the Sundarkand Paath. He also criticised Kejriwal for previously announcing a series of Shri Sundarkand Paath programs for 2024, which, according to him, he has since abandoned. "When Kejriwal finds himself politically cornered, he tries to enhance his political standing by organising Sundarkand recitations in Delhi," Malhotra said. He claimed that the current focus on the Ram temple and the Sundarkand Paath is an effort to sway Hindu voters in Punjab and other states where elections are upcoming. The Delhi BJP president said that the people of Delhi and the entire country still vividly remember Kejriwal's speech in which, quoting his maternal grandmother, he had said that he did not wish to visit a temple that, according to him, had been built after demolishing a mosque. The alleged theft of donations at the newly built Ram temple in Ayodhya has turned into a major political war of words between the BJP and the opposition parties. An FIR was registered on June 25 following a preliminary report by the SIT, which was constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government after the embezzlement came to fore. Eight people associated with the temple's donation and counting process were arrested in the case, and the investigation is ongoing. PTI VIT MPL MPL