Mumbai’s walls become battlefield for BJP-Congress slogan war

Before: Both Congress and BJP graffiti on the wall of Hill Park Udyan in Shastri Nagar last week

The BJP and the Congress are gearing up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and have engaged in a wall graffiti war in the western suburbs. While the BJP has stencilled lotus symbols and Modi slogans, Congress has taunted back with slogans demanding jobs and welfare. However, an unidentified activist has filed a police complaint for defacement of public spaces.

The slogan ‘Ek Baar Firse, Modi Sarkar' is being painted with the lotus, which is the election symbol of the BJP. In response, the Youth Congress started printing ‘Rojgar Do, Nyay Do' alongside the BJP slogan.

The Working President of Mumbai Youth Congress, Sufiyan Haider, said that the BJP has painted graffiti on the walls of many public places. "We saw graffiti with a lotus symbol. But no one is taking action on it. We saw graffiti at Jogeshwari West, Malad Appa Pada. So, we also responded by painting graffiti last week,"
said Sufiyan.

After: Picture clicked on Sunday shows Congress graffiti missing. Pic/Anurag Ahire

"On Saturday, the Amboli police called me and said they had received a complaint against me as we painted graffiti on the walls of public places. Police recorded my statement. I also filed a complaint with the police as well as with BMC against BJP graffiti. If they are taking action against me, then authorities should take action against BJP," Sufiyan said. "Meanwhile, I came to know that the graffiti we painted on the wall of Hill Park Udyan in Shastri Nagar, Jogeshwari West has been removed by painting over, while the BJP graffiti on the side remains the same," Sufiyan said.

Shastri Nagar comes under the Versova constituency. Dr Bharti Lavekar of BJP is the MLA of the constituency. Sufiyan said Bharati Lavekar filed a complaint against him. However, the police did not confirm the name of the complainant. Meanwhile, Lavekar did not respond to the calls and messages.

Senior Police Inspector Jaywant Shinde of Amboli station said that he will give information about the issue soon.

Anil Galgali, a civic activist, said BMC should take suo-motu action. "On the one hand, BMC spends crores of rupees on the beautification of the city, on the other hand, political parties use public places for their free publicity. Why is the BMC waiting to take action?" he questioned.

Sanjay Gurav, another civic activist, also slammed BMC as well as the parties. "Keeping the city clean is the responsibility of everyone, but political parties use walls of public places for their free publicity. How will the city become clean and beautiful?" Gurav asked.