The Aam Aadmi Party has started preparations for next year’s elections in Rajasthan. In such a situation, the state office was inaugurated in Jaipur on Thursday 5th May 2022. However, the party is already facing outrage from its Muslim workers, because Hindu rituals were performed during the inauguration of the state head office. Several Muslim workers associated with AAP came forward to criticise the party’s move.
.@AAPRajasthan का नया प्रदेश कार्यालय- pic.twitter.com/sfxuKPX5Mg
— Dayaram Rabari 🇮🇳 (@DayaramDewasi93) May 5, 2022
According to a report by ETV Bharat, the Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday inaugurated its state headquarters building in Jaipur. The inauguration ceremony included full fledged Hindu rituals, including Havan, the recitation of the Sunderkand of Ramayana, and singing of Hindu devotional songs. These rituals lasted for around four hours. It was attended by hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party workers and leaders, including state election in-charge and MLA Vinay Mishra himself.
The entire program of religious rituals took place according to Hindu customs. Though it is being seen as the soft Hindutva initiative of the Aam Aadmi Party, it was opposed by its own workers. Some Muslim workers associated with the party raised many questions in front of the media, criticizing the party’s move.
The Muslim workers also questioned why only Hindu rituals were performed and why Islamic rituals were not performed during the inauguration ceremony of the AAP head office in Rajasthan.
हो रही हैं पूरी तैयारी
— Dushyant Yadav 🇮🇳 (@DushyantAAP) May 5, 2022
अब राजस्थान में बदलाव की हैं बारी।
आज हुआ @AAPRajasthan के नए कार्यालय का उद्घाटन।#राजस्थान_मांगे_केजरीवाल pic.twitter.com/0OziEKaWHP
Rashid Hasan, an AAP worker, said, “The constitution says that all religions are equal. Every religion gets equal respect. Then why ‘Deen’ (Islam) was not given equal respect? This is the first question. Secondly, this was an office function. This was not any religious function. The inauguration program of the office was turned into a religious program. If you invite religions for making it a religious program, then we will be the first one to reach there. We don’t have any problem with anyone’s religion. But ignoring others is beyond tolerance. It is not accepted.”
Rajasthan AAP workers went against party because Puja performed in AAP office, Said it’s against party and constitution.pic.twitter.com/aTsyqHtw1l
— Lala 🇮🇳 (@FabulasGuy) May 6, 2022
Another AAP member Haji Mubarak Ali said, “We did not disturb those rituals. We had a meeting yesterday. People appointed four of us as representatives. This matter is being discussed in the party groups. It is communicated to them all in person as well as on the telephone that this is not a Gandhian way, this is not an Ambedkarite way either. Nor this is a constitutional way. This is a political party. This is not the Dharma of a political party.”
प्रदेश चुनाव प्रभारी @vinaymishra_aap जी के नेतृत्व @AAPRajasthan करेगी 200 विधानसभा क्षेत्रों में 800 सम्मेलन। https://t.co/dd9sZy9ok6
— AAP Rajasthan (@AAPRajasthan) May 5, 2022
He further said, “We have inaugurated our offices in the past at the hands of a rickshaw driver. Right from the inception of this party, we have been its member and we will be the members unless we are expelled. It is possible that if we raise our voices, we will be expelled and our voices will be crushed. But we are all prepared for that too. I have been the General Secretary of AAP’s Jaipur unit.”
When AAP’s state election in-charge and MLA Vinay Mishra was asked a question about this, he said, “Let us not look at it through a religious lens. Today we inaugurated the office. Whenever we inaugurate something, we do it by the set traditions and puja, etc. So we have done it in that way. We recited the Sunderkand because we the members of the Aam Aadmi Party are devotees of Lord Hanuman. Everywhere we take Lord Hanuman and his blessings with us. None of our tasks succeeds without him. So we recited the Sunderkand today. We have done the puja for purification. Besides, we have also offered a Chadar in the Ajmer Dargah and distributed Laddus in Gurudwara.”
