New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday, January 4, released its first list of 29 candidates for the polls to the 70-member Delhi Assembly, fielding former MP Parvesh Verma from the New Delhi seat against ex-chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal. It has named another former MP Ramesh Bidhuri from Kalkaji, where chief minister and AAP candidate Atishi is in the fray.
Former MP Ramesh Bidhuri is infamous for his Islamaphobic stance in the Parliament where he termed Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali as a “Muslim ugrawadi” (Muslim terrorist), “Bharwa” (pimp), and “katwa” (circumcised) on the floor of the house.
“Ye mulla aatankwadi hai, bahar pheko naa iss mulle ko,” the BJP MP also said. While he was making those remarks against the Muslim MP, former Union health minister and BJP leader Harshvardhan was seen laughing and cheering at the highly objectionable slurs.
Bidhuri’s Islamophobic remarks have drawn strong condemnation from opposition leaders, with some describing it as a ‘new low’ in the history of the nation’s Parliament.
The party has fielded its national office-bearers Dushyant Kumar Gautam and Ashish Sood from Karol Bagh and Janakpuri, respectively, Arvinder Singh Lovely from Gandhi Nagar and former AAP leader Kailash Gahlot from Bijwasan.
Former Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay will contest from Malviya Nagar.
