The annual Ramlila organised by the Shree Keshav Ram Leela Committee in Pitampura, Delhi, will burn a 30-foot-tall cockroach effigy alongside the traditional effigies of Ravan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnad.
Committee president Ashok Goel, a BJP MLA, said the cockroach symbolises “filth and dirt” and that the initiative is intended to promote cleanliness under the Swachh Bharat and Swachh Delhi campaigns.
Goel said the decision was not politically motivated and was meant to reinforce the message that good has triumphed over evil. The cockroach will also feature among the asuras in Ravan’s army during the Ramlila performance.
The announcement comes amid protests by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Delhi. The group has been demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Despite the timing, the organisers have denied any political connection to the effigy, saying it represents the need to eliminate filth from homes, neighbourhoods and society.