A 30-foot cockroach effigy was set ablaze alongside Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad during a Dussehra celebration in northwest Delhi, turning an otherwise familiar Ramlila spectacle into a political controversy.
The effigy was burnt on Tuesday (October 20) evening at the DDA ground in Netaji Subhash Place, Pitampura, during an event organised by the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee. The organisers said the unusual addition was meant to highlight filth, cockroach infestations and the health hazards associated with unhygienic surroundings.
Committee president and BJP Model Town MLA Ashok Goel Devraha said the aim was to raise awareness about sanitation and the health problems linked to cockroaches. He also clarified that the effigy was not directed at any individual, political party or organisation.
Delhi: BJP MLA Ashok Goel Devraha says, “Vijayadashami is a festival that we celebrate to mark the victory of truth over falsehood, righteousness over unrighteousness, and good over evil. On this day, we reiterate that truth always triumphs, and we burn the effigies of Ravana, Meghnad, and Kumbhkaran as a symbol of this. At the Keshav Ramlila Committee, we have a tradition of burning a fourth effigy that represents a societal evil. Previously, we burned effigies of Naxalism and terrorism. This time, the committee decided to burn an effigy of a cockroach to symbolize filth. Everyone collectively decided that we must work together to eradicate the filth inside our homes, outside our homes, and within society…”
(15.10)
— IANS (@ians_india) October 15, 2026
The committee has previously used similar symbolism, burning effigies representing Naxalism and the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, the target was a familiar urban menace: cockroaches, the pests that thrive in dirty environments and can contaminate food and surfaces.
The event was attended by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Arun Singh, Delhi Cabinet minister Kapil Mishra and VHP Delhi unit president Kapil Khanna. Their remarks focused on righteousness, duty, social unity and the preservation of traditions.
A 30-foot cockroach effigy was set ablaze at Pitampura Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. 🔥
A powerful message to all anti-India elements: Evil may appear powerful, but its downfall is inevitable.
No matter how big the evil, good will always triumph over it. 🇮🇳 https://t.co/V4diYTITcs
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) October 20, 2026
The cockroach, however, soon became the centre of a political row.
AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj filed complaints with Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, alleging that the effigy hurt Hindu religious sentiments, altered Sanatan customs for political gains and promoted enmity between communities. In a post on X, he demanded an FIR against Devraha and Kapil Mishra.
The organisers stated explanation was simple: the cockroach represented filth and the health hazards associated with it. Bharadwaj interpreted the act differently and sought police intervention. His allegations, however, do not by themselves establish that an offence took place.
The controversy has shifted attention away from the sanitation issue the committee said it wanted to highlight. Delhi’s residents have ample reason to be concerned about garbage, unhygienic surroundings and pest infestations. Cockroaches are hardly creatures that need political protection; they are persistent household and public-health nuisances that thrive where sanitation fails.
MLA & Minister of @BJP4India cannot use my Hindu religion for their cheap politics against GenZ. They cannot demean our thousand years old sanatan customs by making it a joke.
@RSSorg can’t sit quite on this blasphemy.
Have requested @CPDelhi and @LtGovDelhi saab to register FIR against BJP MLA and @KapilMishra_IND for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus by alerting the Sanatan Customs for political gains and promoting enmity hatered between communities and groups.
— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) October 20, 2026
Whether the effigy crossed any legal or religious boundary is a separate question for the authorities to examine. But the episode also raises a straightforward question: when a symbolic act is explicitly presented as a campaign against filth, should the focus not remain on the problem it seeks to expose?
For now, a 30-foot cockroach burnt at a Delhi Ramlila event has become the subject of a political dispute, with complaints and allegations taking centre stage while the original message about sanitation risks getting lost in the flames.
