Ravan, Kumbhakaran and Meghnad are also going to be burnt down in Delhi this year at the Ramlila ground as is the tradition for the effigy of a 30 feet tall cockroach. These are with the “Shree Keshav Ram Leela Committee”, which is in charge of the annual event in Pitampura.
The inclusion is meant to encourage cleanliness as part of the Swachh Bharat and Swachh Delhi campaign in keeping with the committee’s resolve to have a “filth and dirt” come into the drawing room, the committee said in a statement.
The committee’s president, Ashok Goel, a member of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), told that it was taken for non-political reasons. Burning the effigy purposefully was meant to restate the triumph of good over evil along with the need of cleanliness, he said.
Goel also said the cockroach was to be included in the list of asuras of Ravan’s army and will also be a part of the Ramlila presentation.
The declaration is coinciding with protests by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which has been holding protests in the national capital. The protesters also protested against former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and now demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for alleged irregularities in Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
In June and July, CJP has protested in Jantar Mantar for more than a month & marched towards Parliament on 20th July. The group’s activities led to the resignation of Pradhan but not the of itself.
Since then, CJP has gone back to the streets, along with members of the opposition parties and student organisations, to demand Kumar’s resignation.
The committee has insisted on the idea that the effigy of the cockroach is to raise awareness around cleanliness and the symbolic message rather than a political message.