AAP doing politics over Rani Lakshmibai’s statue issue for votes, says BJP

New Delhi: Accusing the AAP of doing politics over the issue of Rani Lakshmibai’s statue, the BJP pointed out that the project was proposed by the PWD and the MCD that come under the Delhi government led by it.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh accused the BJP of removing Rani Lakshmibai’s statue from the Deshbandhu Gupta road intersection but this project was proposed by the PWD and the MCD both of which come under AAP government in Delhi, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said.

The Delhi government had in 2016-17 proposed enhancing the flyover from Tis Hazari to Filmistan and as part of it the Rani Jhansi Road was to be widened for which the relocation of Rani Lakshmibai’s statue at Deshbandhu Gupta Chowk was approved, said Sachdeva.

He mentioned that the PWD hastened this work the previous year, when it was decided that the MCD and DDA together would identify land and relocate the statue.

The Rani Jhansi Road project is a traffic and public welfare initiative, fully managed by the AAP government, said the Delhi BJP president.

The DDA allocated a large portion of its land near the Eidgah complex on Rani Jhansi Road to install the statues of Rani Lakshmibai and her two commanders Khuda Baksh and Ghulam Ghaus Khan in a park, he said. An organization unhappy with this decision approached the Delhi High Court, where they were severely reprimanded, he said.

“Singh is promoting the agenda of a communal organization which was reprimanded by the Delhi High Court, by opposing the relocation of Rani Lakshmibai’s statue and the Rani Jhansi Road project,” he charged.

Delhi BJP media department head said that it was regrettable that the AAP was speaking the language of a “particular community” for votes ahead of the Assembly polls.