Who hasn’t heard of the infamous quote ‘Nero played the fiddle while Rome burnt?’ Depicting the complete apathy of a tyrant towards his kingdom, it seems this quote has now found its suitable competitor in the current Chief Minister of Delhi NCR, Arvind Kejriwal, who is playing the ‘fiddle of love’, even as his state is burning under the communal tensions brought up by the brutal murder of Ankit Saxena by the family of his Muslim girlfriend.

Without going too deep into the issue, let the readers be reminded that Ankit Saxena was a Delhi based photographer, who was viciously murdered by the parents of his Muslim girlfriend Salima, just because in their eyes, he was a Hindu, an infidel, who couldn’t be allowed to make a proposal for the marriage. As of now, the girlfriend, according to some unverified sources, has agreed to testify in favor of her slain boyfriend, and the accused have been arrested.

Interestingly, Arvind Kejriwal, normally among the first ones to reach a scene of communal violence remained largely apathetic to Ankit Saxena Murder case. Kejriwal didn’t even make a single statement for 3 days straight, let alone visiting the home of the bereaved family or even providing some kind of monetary assistance. The furor over social media and continuous pressure by state BJP made him issue a clarification, which looked quite pretentious. As per some media reports, Kejriwal has finally met the parents of Ankit Saxena: –

Anyway, forget what Kejriwal has done till now and brace yourself for what he is going to do now. Arvind Kejriwal has announced cultural programs to remove hate from society and spread the message of love.

According to the official communiqué issued by the Delhi Government, under the supervision of the Deputy CM, and coincidentally the Minister of Culture and Arts, Manish Sisodia, the AAP government in Delhi is planning ‘cultural programmes’ to spread the message that killing those who are in love is a sin.

“The events should be anchored in a way so that the message is loud and clear that it is a sin to kill people who are in love,” he said.

Sisodia suggested the Sahitya Kala Parishad and other cultural academies of the government come up with thought-provoking events like ghazal and other cultural programs as a tribute to the victims of honour killing. While we appreciate the Delhi Government’s efforts for spreading the message of peace and love but this looks a bit juvenile and evasive at best. This is the time to address the elephant in the room. Everyone knows what the problem is and everyone knows that criminals thrive due to government’s indulgence. A section of society feels empowered and emboldened to openly behead a man, in full public view and in broad daylight. This is not just gall but a silent belief that they will be saved.

What Arvind Kejriwal should have done here ideally is to make an example of out of the ones who killed Ankit Saxena for loving a girl outside his religion. Arvind Kejriwal should have called in a press conferences and made a tough statement against medieval values and beliefs. That would have been the message that Delhi and the rest of the country probably needs.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath is an ideal example for Kejriwal to follow. How he saved Kasganj from becoming another Muzaffarnagar by being absolutely impartial in approach but cold and merciless in execution, will be discussed by politics enthusiasts for a long time.

Cultural Programs are not bad, but not at the time, when your own home is burning. If only Kejriwal had the time to understand this simple point.