NEW DELHI: Delhi minister Parvesh Verma took a swipe at former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal after he taunted BJP national president Nitin Nabin over the Ram Mandir fund embezzlement row.As the political slugfest over the donation theft charges snowballed, back-and-forth remarks ensued between Kejriwal and Nabin.The BJP chief, while addressing a BJP event in Lucknow, had said, “Today, I want to tell Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, and Kejriwal that you do not consider the Hindu religion so weak that people will fall for your rhetoric.”Rebutting Nabin’s comments, Kejriwal asked, “Who are you?”Kejriwal’s taunt prompted Parvesh Verma, who emerged as the BJP’s giant slayer by defeating Kejriwal in the 2025 Assembly polls, to step into the verbal clash.“National President is a very big deal, but do you even remember me or not?” Verma asked, taunting Kejriwal in return.Arvind Kejriwal, who made headlines when he led his Aam Aadmi Party to two historic victories in Delhi in 2015 and 2020, lost the New Delhi assembly seat to BJP’s Parvesh Verma. The AAP chief lost his seat by over 4000 votes. Not just Kejriwal, all the big shots of the AAP except cheif minister Atishi lost their seat with the BJP storming back to power in Delhi after a gap of 27 years.Earlier, Rekha Gupta launched a blistering counterattack against Kejriwal over his “Who are you?” remark.The comment prompted a strong response from Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, who accused the former Delhi chief minister of allowing political frustration to turn into arrogance. In a post on X, Gupta first introduced Nabin while highlighting his political journey and credentials.“Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, Mr. Nitin Nabin, aged 46, is the youngest-ever national president of the world’s largest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has had the honor of representing the Bankipur Assembly constituency in Bihar for four consecutive terms. Starting as an activist in the Yuva Morcha, he has journeyed all the way to becoming the party’s national president. Currently, he has been elected as a member of the upper house of Parliament in the world’s largest democracy. This is a brief introduction to him,” the chief minister said.She then launched a direct attack on Kejriwal, saying: “Everyone knows you’re feeling desperate and disheartened. But it seems your ego is still riding high in the seventh heaven!” she said.Drawing a parallel with a similar remark once made by former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee about Union home minister Amit Shah, Gupta added, “By the way, Mamata ji once asked too, ‘Who is this Amit Shah?’ Time answers every question. Even Ravana’s arrogance couldn’t hold; who are you to think yours will?”Amid the heated political discourse, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is set to hold a crucial meeting on Monday in Ayodhya amid the ongoing probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations.According to temple administration assistant Gopal Rao, the meeting will take place at 3 pm inside the Ram Temple premises. The Trust has asked all regular and ex-officio members to attend the deliberations.“The trust meeting will take place at 3pm within the temple complex. Everyone has been notified; we expect everyone to attend,” he said.The Trust is expected to discuss the resignations of general secretary Champat Rai and Anil Mishra, both of whom stepped down after being linked to the donation theft row.Champat Rai and Anil Mishra resigned from the Trust on June 26 after allegations of irregularities in donations surfaced, with questions being raised over their alleged role in the matter.
