BJP, AAP spar on display of shop owners’ names during Eid, Navratri in Delhi

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Jangpura Tarvinder Singh Marwah has written to Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, urging her to issue directions for shopkeepers across the city to display their names outside their establishments during the ongoing Navratri and Eid festivities.

In his letter, sent on Sunday, Marwah argued that such name boards would enable citizens to make “informed choices” while purchasing “sacred items, while maintaining the sanctity of their rituals and beliefs.”

The opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), however, has strongly criticised the proposal, calling it an attempt to create divisions between communities during festivals. Calling it a “naming and shaming” policy, AAP said what should be made public instead are the names of top bank defaulters and people looting the taxpayers’ money.

Marwah’s letter dated March 30 said, “As we approach Navratri and Eid, it is important to ensure that celebrations are conducted with mutual respect and harmony. I request your esteemed office to issue guidance for shopkeepers across Delhi to display nameplates in front of their establishments. This will allow citizens to make informed choices while purchasing sacred items, maintaining the sanctity of their rituals and beliefs.”

“This step will promote transparency and communal harmony. Your intervention will help ensure smooth festivities and prevent misunderstandings,” it further said.

AAP leader Priyanka Kakkar lashed out at the BJP, calling the proposal an attempt to target certain communities. “This is BJP’s ‘Saugat-e-Modi’. They don’t spare any opportunity during festivals to create discord. Why does the BJP want names of backward castes and minorities to be written outside shops? BJP is against dalits, women and Muslims. They want the sale of these shops to go down.”

She said if the BJP believes in such “name and shame” policy, then bank defaulters should be named and shamed in public to make citizens aware about who is looting the taxpayer’s money. “BJP is anti-dalit, anti-Muslim and anti-women. “The real problem is not among people—it’s with BJP politicians who seek to create divisions for their own political gain,” Kakkar said.