NEW DELHI: A 30-foot-tall cockroach effigy will be burnt alongside those of Ravan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnad during Dussehra celebrations in the national capital this year, with organisers saying the insect will symbolise filth and unhygienic conditions as part of their cleanliness message.The Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee, which organises the Ramlila in Pitampura, said the initiative aims to highlight the need to eliminate filth from homes, neighbourhoods and society at large, in keeping with the Swachh Bharat and Swachh Delhi campaigns.Ashok Goel Devaraha, president of the committee and Model Town BJP MLA, said the decision was intended to reinforce the message of the triumph of good over evil and was not politically motivated.Speaking to ANI, Devaraha said Vijayadashami symbolises the victory of truth over falsehood and righteousness over unrighteousness. He added that the committee had previously burnt effigies representing issues affecting the country, including Naxalism and terrorism.“Keeping these principles in mind, we have also, in the past, burned effigies representing various afflictions plaguing our nation, such as Naxalism or terrorism. This year, our committee has decided to burn an effigy of a cockroach, a symbol of filth,” he said.The effigy will be set alight at the committee grounds in Pitampura. Devaraha described it as a 30-foot-tall structure shaped like a cockroach, adding that the aim was to draw attention to the need to rid homes, neighbourhoods and society of dirt and unhygienic conditions.How did ‘cockroach’ become a political name?The choice of the insect comes amid protests by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and opposition parties in Delhi, which had been campaigning against former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and is now demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.The group staged protests against Pradhan in June and July, including a demonstration at Jantar Mantar and a march towards Parliament on July 20. Pradhan subsequently resigned as education minister in July, while Pralhad Joshi took over the portfolio.
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The CJP has since returned to the streets over its allegations concerning the electoral roll revision process, joining opposition parties and student organisations in demonstrations. Several activists, students and journalists were detained during protests in the capital.The committee president, however, has denied that the cockroach effigy is politically motivated, maintaining that it is intended to convey a message about cleanliness.Also read: 6,000 cops, 200 CAPF companies: As CJP pushes ahead with Tiranga march, Delhi prepares for a high-security fridayOn May 15, while hearing a case in the Supreme Court, CJI Surya Kant had compared certain individuals with fraudulent degrees to “cockroaches” who become social media or RTI activists to attack the system. The remarks triggered widespread backlash among young people and inspired the satirical “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP) movement.He later clarified that his oral remarks during a Supreme Court hearing were “misquoted” and later used with “malicious intent” to mislead the country’s youth.