Kiran Bedi, the BJP's chief ministerial candidate, paying tribute at Lala Lajpat Rai's statue
Kiran Bedi, the BJP's chief ministerial candidate for Delhi, was criticized by Arvind Kejriwal for placing a party sash around the statue of freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai today.
"I request Kiran Bedi to spare our freedom fighters. These leaders have fought to win independence for 120 crore Indians. There should be no politics over them," Mr Kejriwal said.
This morning, Ms Bedi began her roadshow at Krishna Nagar, the constituency from where she is contesting the February 7 Delhi polls, with a tribute to Lala Lajpat Rai. She cleaned the statue and garlanded it, and went on to take off her BJP sash and place it around the statue.
She removed it a few minutes later, but her act had already been seized by the Aam Aadmi Party chief, who accused her of "saffronising freedom fighters."
The BJP's Harsh Vardhan, defended Ms Bedi amid reports of a rift between them. "Taking the blessing of great leaders before you start makes serving the nation better," he said.
The garlands and flowers were removed after Ms Bedi's procession drove off.
During his campaign for the national election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also paid tribute at the statue of freedom icon Madan Mohan Malviya at his constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The Samajwadi Party later made a show of "cleansing" the statue.
Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal, who once worked together as part of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign, will both file their nomination papers for the Delhi polls.