In Arvind Kejriwal vs Manoj Tiwari, Delhi CM's Hanuman Mandir Visit Sparks Fresh Row On Polling Day

Delhi Assembly Elections 2020: As the national capital votes for the prestige battle of the Delhi Assembly Elections, incumbent Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Friday visit to the ancient Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place has sparked fresh controversy. Slamming the Chief Minister, Delhi BJP Chief Manoj Tiwari on Saturday claimed that Arvind Kejriwal didn’t wash his hands after removing his shoes and he touched the garland that was offered to the temple deity. “When ‘naqli bhakt’ visits temple this what happens. I spoke to the priest of the temple, he told me that the idol of the presiding deity was washed several times after Kejriwal’s visit (Woh (Arvind Kejriwal) pooja karne gaye the ya Hanuman Ji ko ashudh karne gaye the? Ek haath se joota utaarke,ussi haath se mala lekar...kya kar diya? Jab nakli bhakt aate hain na toh yahi hota hai. Maine pandit ji ko bataya, bahut baar Hanuman Ji ko dhoye hain),” Tiwari was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Talking to News Nation, Kejriwal said that the BJP was mocking him over the temple visit. “Did the temple turn impure after my visit,” asked Kejriwal. Taking to Twitter after casting his vote for the Delhi assembly elections, Kejriwal sought to know what kind of politics the BJP is doing. "Ever since I have recited the 'Hanuman Chalisa' on a TV channel, the BJP is constantly mocking me. Yesterday, I went to a Hanuman Temple. "Today, BJP leaders are saying that the temple has turned impure by his visit. What kind of politics is this? God belongs to all. God blesses everyone, including those in the BJP," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

जब से मैंने à¤Âक TV चैनल पे हनà¥Âमान चालीसा पढ़ा है, भाजपा वाले लगातार मेरा मज़ाक़ उड़ा रहे हैं। कल मैं हनà¥Âमान मंदिर गया।आज भाजपा नेता कह रहे हैं कि मेरे जाने से मंदिर अशà¥Âदà¥Âध हो गया। ये कैसी राजनीति है? भगवान तो सभी के हैं। भगवान सभी को आशीरà¥Âवाद दें, भाजपा वालों को भी।

सबका भला हो

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 8, 2020

On Friday, Kejriwal along with his wife offered prayers at the famous Hanuman Temple near Connaught Place. Lord Hanuman has been one of the talking points in the runup to the Delhi Assembly Elections.

It all started on February 4, 'Hanuman Chalisa' started trending on social media and Google after two BJP leaders -- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Kapil Mishra – took a dig at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi . The dig came after Kejriwal told a news channel that he does not need BJP's endorsement on being a Hindu. He had also recited the 'Hanuman Chalisa' on stage.

The Aam Aadmi Party is hoping to repeat its stellar performance of the last assembly polls when it won 67 of the 70 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which bagged all the seven seats in Delhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll, is aiming to dislodge the AAP, while the Congress is seeking to better its performance than last time when it drew a blank in the assembly polls. The AAP had got 54.3 per cent votes in the 2015 polls, while the BJP secured 32 per cent and the Congress bagged just 9.6 per cent. In the single-phase polling, 1.47 crore voters decide the fate of 672 candidates.