Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was all set to replace Congress as the main opposition party at the national level. Having two Chief Ministers is no small achievement and AAP’s grand victory in Punjab seemed set to take the party to new heights.
But then a speech by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi Assembly went viral. He was seen mocking BJP leaders for “promoting The Kashmir Files“. Netizens however didn’t take the speech very kindly. The speech seems to have backfired. So, has the AAP been pushed back to square one?
What did Kejriwal say?
During his speech in Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal hit out at the BJP over its demand to make The Kashmir Files tax-free in the state and said, “The BJP should ask Vivek Agnihotri to upload it on YouTube and everyone will see it for free.”
He also said, “Some people are earning crores in the name of Kashmiri Pandits and you (BJP) have been sticking posters of the film.”
The Delhi CM went on to tell BJP workers to join AAP. He said, “Stop behaving like sheep. Come to AAP. You will get respect and honour. We will not engage you in fake sloganeering. We shall use you to build the nation. We will not ask you to stick posters of fake films.”
Kejriwal facing backlash on social media
Following his remarks about The Kashmir Files in the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal started facing backlash all over social media.
The video of Kejriwal’s remarks went viral on Thursday and many users shared it with the #KejriwalhatesKP. Many users even picked up a screenshot of the video in which Kejriwal can be seen mocking BJP leaders for promoting the movie.
Criticism picked up on Friday, with #KejriwalExposed trending at top on the micro-blogging platform for a larger part of the day. Many social media users pointed out that several movies including 83, Nil Battey, Sannata, Dangal, Neerja, and Hindi Medium were made tax free by the Delhi government. So, what was wrong with the demand to make The Kashmir Files tax-free?
What a logic by this so called IITian. Before COVID same guy used to give movie review and few movies were tax free by him. Now just doing Dirty Politics. हम राजनीति बदलने आए हैं जी ॥#KejriwalHatesKPs #TheKashmiriFiles https://t.co/G7XpfUaxLu
— KUNDAN SRIVASTAVA (@kundansriv) March 25, 2022
https://twitter.com/VikasInExile/status/1507262223676182529?t=Jb4WDLQtYr6DjE2MSUvAkQ&s=19
Anyhow, Kejriwal slammed the BJP again. On Saturday, he reiterated the demand to put The Kashmir Files on YouTube. He said, “BJP is doing politics over the issue. We demand ‘The Kashmir Files’ film to be uploaded on YouTube. The money earned from it should be spent on welfare of Kashmiri Pandits.“
AAP back to square one
The fact of the matter is that the impact of The Kashmir Files has been underestimated. The movie has displayed a 32-year old tragedy that was buried under the carpet for way too long. And this is why it is incredibly popular amongst almost everyone.
It isn’t as if only BJP workers and supporters are praising The Kashmir Files. The movie has already entered the Rs. 200 crore club and is only getting more popular. Now, the BJP supporters alone couldn’t have made it such a huge box office success.
Read more: ‘The Kashmir Files’ crosses the ‘200 Crore mark’
Also, the movie reviews are largely positive, even from those media sources that are usually critical of the BJP. So, a large section of anti-BJP or politically neutral segment of the society has been touched deeply by The Kashmir Files.
By mocking BJP leaders over the movie or appearing critical of The Kashmir Files, the AAP is only alienating neutral voters or perhaps even its own core voters.
Read more: Content is King: The Kashmir Files proves it
To replace the Congress, AAP needs pan-India political presence. Yet, Kejriwal’s remarks about The Kashmir Files are only pushing it back to square one.
In fact, after the laughing and making mockery of the suffering of the Hindus, any Hindu who votes for this fake political party should be ashamed of himself.
Let’s not over estimate hindu memory & Kejriwal’s stupidity….he is quick to correct course …& He knows his voters are not Twitter or Facebook users…He is the frontline face of a global Islamo-leftist group which is well funded & well advised. This ultra left brains know to survive & strike back. Instead of following political niceties – the govt should find ways & means to end his show before he does more damage.