Police book AAP leaders over Santa Claus pollution skit for hurting religious sentiments

New Delhi: The Delhi Police have registered a case against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi unit convenor Saurabh Bhardwaj and two other party leaders following a complaint that a street play regarding air pollution outraged the religious feelings of the Christian community.

The controversy centres on a skit performed at Connaught Place, which depicted a man dressed as Santa Claus fainting due to poor air quality. Alongside Bhardwaj, Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha and AAP leader Adil Ahmad Khan have also been booked.

The complaint, submitted by advocate Khushboo George, alleges that the leaders uploaded videos on their official social media handles between December 17 and 18, showing a ‘political skit’ where Santa Claus was used as a prop. In the video, Bhardwaj is heard announcing that the Air Quality Index (AQI) had touched 376, prompting the character dressed as Santa to dramatically collapse.

The complainant argued that Santa Claus is a "revered religious and cultural icon" associated with Saint Nicholas and that performing mock CPR on the character amounted to ridicule of a religious symbol during the holy season of Advent. An FIR was registered on December 25 under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Responding to the legal action, Bhardwaj dismissed the case as an intimidation tactic by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He alleged that the ruling party was on the "back foot" regarding the pollution crisis and the Aravalli mountain range issue, claiming that the skit had successfully highlighted these failures to the public. Bhardwaj accused the BJP of mobilising workers to pose as aggrieved Christians to file complaints, noting that similar outrage was absent during previous incidents where people dressed as Santa Claus were allegedly harassed in Lajpat Nagar. He asserted that the FIR was a reaction to the BJP being cornered by the "power of social media."

(Inputs from PTI)