New Delhi: A section of the Delhi BJP office-bearers are unhappy with Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari upon his sharing platform with the sacked AAP leader, Kapil Mishra. Recently, Mr Tiwari has been frequently seen with Mr Mishra along with Shiromani Akali Dal general secretary and Rajouri Garden MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
On the intervening night of December 22 and 23, Mr Tiwari, Mr Mishra and Mr Sirsa checked the reality of shelter homes for the homeless near ISBT Kashmere Gate. After the inspection/reality check, the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) constructed temporary shelter homes for the homeless at Kashmere gate ISBT to save the homeless from the chilling weather conditions. On New Year’s Eve, Mr Tiwari was present at this shelter home at midnight along with Mr Mishra and Mr Sirsa to celebrate the occasion with the homeless.
Mr Tiwari’s sharing the public platform with Mr Mishra has created a strong resentment among a large section of the Delhi BJP unit, who claimed that it could be politically suicidal for the party. A senior state office-bearer told this newspaper that there is nothing wrong in going among the homeless or celebrating New Year with them. However, inviting or joining Mr Mishra and Mr Sirsa is not politically correct and that Mr Tiwari should have avoided it.
“Both the leaders are not BJP members. We can claim that Mr Sirsa has won the Delhi Assembly election on a BJP ticket, but technically he is a member of Shiromani Akali Dal. Mr Mishra, before his removal from Arvind Kejriwal’s Cabinet, used most derogatory words against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Tiwari should have avoided him while visiting a night shelter or other facilities for reality check,” he said.
Delhi BJP office-bearers also questioned why none of the party leaders were invited to these two events.
“Our state president should have at least called any one of the Delhi BJP office bearers. Does Mr Tiwari think that none of the state office bearers deserve to be with him on such a crucial stage? If he thinks so, then Mr Tiwari must get a new team of office bearers for such an act is humiliating to us,” said another state office bearer.
Mr Tiwari’s camp, however, downplayed the incident by ignoring the state office bearers and said that it was a humanitarian act and open for all.
“Instead of complaining it now, the office bearers should have joined Mr Tiwari during the midnight visit to the homeless,” they said.
Many office bearers are planning to raise the issue during the two-day state executive meeting to be held on January 6 and 7.
“We are going to raise this humiliating issue at the state executive meet,” they said.
