NEW DELHI, Dec 25: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bhardwaj and two other leaders have been booked for a “political skit” the party released on Christmas, allegedly for offending the religious sentiments of the Christians.
The FIR was filed on Thursday based on a complaint by advocate Khushboo George, for the skit which shows Santa Claus facing obstacles for Christmas celebrations due to the pollution crisis in Delhi. Along with Bhardwaj, Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha and AAP leader Adil Ahmad Khan were also booked.
The complainant alleged that the skit outrages the religious feelings of Christians as Santa Claus was “revered religious and cultural icon.” The video was uploaded on
Reacting to the scene, Bhardwaj is heard quipping in Hindi, “Oh my God, 376 sunke Santa behosh ho gaye (Santa fainted hearing that the AQI has hit 376).” Following the FIR, Bhardwaj took to
Dismissing the case as “intimidatory tactics of the government,” Bhardwaj added that the FIR was the result of the power of social media that has cornered the BJP government on several issues.
“An FIR has been filed against Santa Claus’s skit. Thanks to social media and your collective strength, the BJP is quite worried today. This is the power of social media—that the BJP government is being forced to respond on pollution, and there’s discussion happening on AQI,” said Bhardwaj.
“Through Santa Claus’s skit, we’ve taken the pollution issue to every single person, which has caused considerable trouble for both the Delhi and central governments. This is the power of social media—that the government has been put on the back foot over the Aravalli mountain range,” he added.
The complaint, submitted by an advocate Khushboo George, alleges that Santa Claus is a revered religious and cultural icon for Christians worldwide and associated with the legacy of Saint Nicholas and the Christmas festival. As per the advocate, Santa Claus was mocked and portrayed “derogatorily” in the skit.
She added that the visuals, which showed mock CPR being performed on Santa Claus, “amounts to ridicule of a religious symbol during the final days of (month of) Advent, just ahead of Christmas celebrations.”
A case under sections 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 302 (uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings of any person) and 3 (5) (joint liability) of the BNS has been registered on the Christmas Day.
Meanwhile, in Rajasthan’s Nagaur, the principal of a private school has alleged that a group of people claiming to be Bajrang Dal members threatened children and staff over Christmas celebrations at the institute.
Similarly in UP’s Bareilly, Members of the Bajrang Dal staged a protest outside St Alphonsus Cathedral Church and recited the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’, alleging that the Hindu religion and society were portrayed in an objectionable manner during a Christmas program organized by the church.
The Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who also strongly condemned the attack on a carol singing group in Kerala’s Palakkad, said there was a need to display “solidarity with our Christian brothers.” “To my mind, this solidarity is fundamental, and we’re going through a time, and sadly, there are attacks on Christians in different places of the country. Even in Kerala, there was an attack on a carol singing group in Palakkad, which is truly shocking,” Tharoor, the four-time MP, said.
“When our traditions are attacked, it is not only Christians who are attacked, it is all of us. Every Indian is assaulted. Our constitutional guarantee of freedom of worship, freedom of belief is being attacked, and we must all stand in solidarity with our Christian brothers,” he said.
Ironically, earlier in the day, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a Christmas morning service at the Cathedral Church of the Redemption along with a large congregation of Christians of Delhi and north India. The service included prayers, carols, hymns and a special prayer for the Prime Minister by Rt Rev Dr Paul Swarup, the Bishop of Delhi.
“Attended the Christmas morning service at The Cathedral Church of the Redemption in Delhi. The service reflected the timeless message of love, peace and compassion. May the spirit of Christmas inspire harmony and goodwill in our society,” PM Modi said in a post on X.
(Rohit Kumar)
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