The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has slammed the BJP government’s decision to paint Delhi’s ‘DEVI’ buses saffron, calling it a direct insult to Hindu sentiments. AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said the move would desecrate faith, as buses stained with spit, paan, and vomit cannot be linked to religious symbols. He hit back at Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, saying if she loves saffron so much, she should wear it daily and paint her own house with it—public spaces are no place for such tokenism.
AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj strongly objected to the BJP-led government’s decision to paint Delhi’s ‘DEVI’ buses saffron. Explaining the background, he said, “All these ‘DEVI buses’ were originally ‘Mohalla Buses’. The BJP first renamed them as ‘DEVI’ and is now going to change their colour to saffron. As a Hindu, I find this decision objectionable.”
He elaborated further, “People sitting in buses spit out of the windows, they spit paan, and sometimes even vomit. The stains of vomit, paan, spit, and mucus stuck to the bus windows hurt my religious sentiments. The BJP renamed Mohalla Buses as ‘DEVI’, and if they now paint them saffron too, then calling them ‘DEVI’ becomes inappropriate.”
He continued, “If CM Rekha Gupta is so fond of saffron, she should wear saffron clothes every day—we would be happy. She can get all the walls of her office painted saffron, we have no objection. She can even paint all the rooms in her house saffron, and we won’t mind.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj emphasised, “But when something that is going to get dirty—like a public bus—then it’s not acceptable. People board buses wearing shoes and slippers. One must be extremely careful while choosing words. We did not expect the BJP to act like this. Maybe after hearing this, the BJP might develop some genuine respect for Hinduism and reconsider its decision.”
