The AAP will stage a protest on Thursday against the BJP over Shehzad Poonawalla’s remarks on its party MLA Rituraj Jha during a live television debate.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, “The party condemns BJP National Spokesperson Poonawala’s public abuse of MLA Rituraj Jha, representing the Purvanchal community”.

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Hitting out at BJP leaders Manoj Tiwari and Giriraj Singh’s silence on this issue, who belong to the Purvanchal community, he said the BJP has continuously insulted and threatened the people native to the Purvanchal region.

“Even in the country’s Parliament, BJP National President J P Nadda referred to people from Purvanchal as Rohingyas and Bangladeshis.

“BJP leaders have a long history of abusing and disrespecting people from UP and Bihar. They have repeatedly insulted these communities, once even remarking that their only worth is to lay mats at events. We had to fight for something as basic as constructing Chhath Ghats in Delhi,” the AAP leader remarked.

Reacting on the matter, AAP MLA Rituraj Jha said, “This has become routine for the BJP as their national president labels us as Rohingyas or Bangladeshis. In Shahdara, they orchestrated the deletion of Purvanchali names from the voter list, but their fraud was exposed. This is a clear demonstration of their deep-seated hatred for the Purvanchali community.

“Former Delhi CM Madan Lal Khurana had promised that Purvanchali people would not be given tickets, saying they are only fit for laying mats. BJP leader Vijay Goel once stated in the Rajya Sabha that if people from Bihar are not stopped, Delhi would turn into a dump and a slum. Even BJP national president J P Nadda has insulted Purvanchal in the Rajya Sabha. Their actions are nothing but theatrics designed to distract and divide,” he said.