The Delhi BJP today accused the Aam Aadmi Party of trying to play caste politics after its senior leader Atishi, the party's one of the probable Lok Sabha candidates, dropped her last name 'Marlena'.
A source in the Aam Aadmi Party had said Atishi's surname was Singh and the second name, Marlena, was given by her parents, apparently after Communist thinkers Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. The party has already rejected reports that it forced Atishi to change her last name because it was "Christian-sounding".
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari alleged that AAP feels that Atishi's caste surname might be "politically damaging", and hence, she was "compelled" to drop it. "Aam Aadmi Party is always ready to stoop down to any low level of politics for political game, be it the politics of casteism or provoking religious feelings..." he said in a statement.
Condemning the move, the BJP leader said, "Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should desist from vitiating the social, religious and political atmosphere of the capital. Otherwise, he will have to pay heavy price in the next elections."
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