00:00Talking about Dashera, it's the day that we celebrate the triumph of good over evil marked
00:06by burning of Ravan's effigy. But in Delhi this year, Ravan is not the only one going up in flames.
00:12A 30 foot tall cockroach effigy is set to burn alongside Ravan, Kumkaran and Meghnath
00:20at the Sri Keshav Ramdeela committee celebration in Pitampura. The organizers say that the cockroach
00:26represents the filth and unhygienic conditions and that the move is aimed at promoting Swatch
00:32Bharat and Swatch Delhi campaign. But the timing of course has raised eyebrows, coming amidst
00:38intense protests by the Cockroachanta party. In fact, CJP founder Abhijeev Dipke has responded
00:44in his own style with the sarcastic message as well, saying thank you for free publicity.
00:50The organizers, however, have denied any political motive behind it, maintaining that the effigy
00:56is a symbol of fight against dirt and uncleanliness.
01:01Shreya Chatterjee joins us live from the location. Shreya, happy Dashera to you firstly. Oh, and you
01:08have a big cockroach behind you as I see over there. This has to be the very first. We've heard
01:14of
01:15innovative ways in which Ramdeela would be dressed up. We've heard of, you know, interesting effigies
01:21being made, but this has to be the very first. And I don't think no matter what the organizers
01:28say about filth and cleanliness, it's got to have a political motive, right?
01:36Well, absolutely. You know, it is absolutely political and happy Dashera to you and to the
01:42viewers of India today as well as I speak, you can see that cockroach effigy just behind
01:47me. It's 30 feet tall. And I've also been told that this was given extra security cover as the
01:55committee ensured that nothing untowards happened and no kind of people try to show up and create
02:00any kind of issue with the cockroach. So you can see the kind of police also on the ground because
02:07apart from the Ravan, the highlight this time is the cockroach and the security of that cockroach
02:12also became very important, I'm told. So clearly we will be seeing an interesting visual as this
02:18cockroach is lit up at 7 p.m. today. And I spoke with Ashok Goel. He's the BJP MLA from
02:25the
02:25constituency and also the chairperson of this committee. He says it's to do with filth.
02:30We need to clear the dirt from our country. He's not giving a direct message. But as you rightly
02:35pointed it out, we cannot ignore the timing. We cannot ignore the political discourse in
02:39the country with the cockroach Janata Party. And it's pretty clear that's exactly why we
02:43see that effigy outshining the Ravan today at this Ramlila ground.
02:49Shreya, when it came to Ravan, it was a, you know, it was a bow and arrow that did the
02:54trick.
02:55I'm wondering what they'll be using to get down to the cockroach. Do you have any insight
03:02on what's going to happen?
03:06I did try to figure out Sonal, you know, sir, I am told that this is the dais on my
03:12right
03:12from where they will probably shoot an arrow. But if you see that cockroach effigy, a little
03:19bit of understanding is that because it's a banner, it's not really a hollow Ravan kind
03:24of a statue. So you can see the haystacks that they have kept on the bottom of the cockroach.
03:29I'm being told that they'll be lighting the hay over there. And that's how the cockroach
03:33will be lighting up today at 7pm. So that's the tentative timing for this cockroach effigy
03:38burning. But interesting, yes, with the political message, how that will ring with the people.
03:44That's something we'll have to wait and watch for. As if now the committee members are only
03:49maintaining one line, no matter how many questions we put for them, they're saying that we just
03:53want to clean the filth, beat our homes or beat the country.
03:57So just for the benefit of our viewers, Shreyan, please expand on this. How these committees
04:02really work is largely it's politically motivated, right? It's backed by one political party or
04:08the other. Back in the time when Congress was in power, we had Congress MLAs and MLCs sort
04:13of organizing it. Now it's the BJP in Delhi. So this is a BJP organized rally where a CJP
04:18symbol is being burnt as an effigy and saying this is an evil that we want to get rid of.
04:27Well, absolutely evil for their political benefit. Absolutely. And that's exactly why the messaging
04:32fits for the BJP perfectly well. And as you said that how are these committees managed, you know,
04:37Sonal, we see it across the country that because festivals are community participation,
04:42more often than not, the political party, the political leader of that area, they are usually
04:48involved in these committees, be it in Bengal, where we see Durga Puja, where political people
04:54are involved in the members of the club. Here also, the chairperson of the committee is Ashok
04:59Goel. He's a BJP MLA. So political, yes, but they try to keep it subtle with not making loud noises.
05:06But this 30 feet cockroach, Sonal, can't be hidden. And we can accept that this is definitely
05:12to do with CJP no matter what they say. So the local BJP leaders there trying to score a brownie
05:19with their leaders, trying to talk about upping on who has the best arrangement. And this one
05:24has clearly taken the cake there, trying to fit in a political message there, Shreya.
05:29Happy Dashehra again to you. Enjoy that. Let us know what was actually used to
05:33get rid of that cockroach in there. So we will keep our eyes on it. Thanks so much for joining
05:39us.
