As part of the ongoing beautification of Delhi, the Shivling shaped fountains that have been installed at Dhaula Kuan in the national Capital has sparked a political controversy.  Calling out the Centre for merely reducing the revered shivlings into fountains, the AAP demanded dismissal of Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena for insulting the Hindu religion and also insisted that the Central Government issue an apology to Hindus across the nation.

Dhaula Kuan Road, positioned along the route from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, now features 18 shivlings embellished with fountains installed at the Hanuman Mandir junction in the Palam airport’s technical area, intended to showcase India’s aesthetic allure.

Taking to X, AAP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sanjay Singh demanded that the BJP apologise to the country and action be taken against Saxena. There was no immediate reaction from the LG’s office or the BJP to the AAP’s allegations.

As Delhi gears up to host the G20 summit from September 9 to 10, arterial stretches in the capital have been given a makeover. “Shivling was insulted under the leadership of Modi ji and shameless BJP members are praising Modi. Delhi LG is being applauded for disrespecting Shivling. The BJP should apologise to the country and action should be taken against the LG,” Singh said in his post on X.

AAP’s chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar echoed similar sentiments. “@LtGovDelhi has played with the faith of crores of Hindus by getting Shivling-shaped fountains installed in Delhi,” she said in a post on X.

Addressing a press conference, AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak and Nitin Tyagi demanded resignation from Lt Governor as NDMC comes under the Centre for hurting Hindu sentiment. BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) leader Y Sathish Reddy said this is a mockery of Hinduism by the Modi government. “Using Shivling as fountains for the #G20Summit2023. Is the sacredness of the Shivling being trivialized for amusement? This is shameful & should be removed at the earliest!” Reddy tweeted.

However, BJP leaders accused Delhi Minister Atishi of disrespectingthe ‘shivling’ and using it for decorative purpose. “A Shivling is not for decoration. And Dhaula Kuan is not Gyanvapi. AAP Govt in Delhi has installed Shivling shaped fountains at Dhaula Kuan,” BJP’s media panelist Charu Pragya tweeted.

Reacting to the controversy, an X user who claims to be Hindu activists said that in New India every step taken by the secular governments is to make Hindu teerthas, Hindu symbols into tourist attractions or fun symbols. Although a religious community she added they did the same thing in Varanasi’s Gyanvapi by turning shivling into a fountain.

Both AAP and the Centre have staked credit for the beautification. A war of words have been seen between the BJP and AAP over funding of beautification projects in Delhi for the G20 Summit that is scheduled to take place on 9th and 10th September in the national capital. A PWD official, as quoted by a news report, said the Shivling fountains are from Odisha.