BJP’s poster on campaign for slum dwellers misuses Tamil author Perumal Murugan’s photo

BJP leaders JP Nadda, Adesh Gupta and Meenakshi Lekhi tweeted pictures of themselves addressing people on the conclusion of BJP Delhi’s campaign for slum dwellers “Jhuggi Samman Yatra”. The poster for the campaign is visible in these pictures. The poster shows several “slum dwellers” and among them is Tamil author Perumal Murugan. His headshot has been highlighted in the posters below.

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BJP Delhi had also tweeted the same poster in October on the commencement of the campaign.

आज प्रातः 10 बजे जवाहर कैम्प,कीर्ति नगर इंडस्ट्रियल एरिया से प्रदेश अध्यक्ष श्री @adeshguptabjp के नेतृत्व में #JhuggiSammanYatra निकलेगी जिसका शुभारंभ प्रदेश प्रभारी श्री @PandaJay करेंगे।

Watch it live on-
●https://t.co/gJXAwCdJGy
●https://t.co/hRBzdtm3TK pic.twitter.com/qaSTQTSfe6

— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) October 15, 2021

Tamil author Perumal Murugan’s photo misused by BJP

The New York Times had used the photo that found its place on BJP’s poster.

The true pleasure of Perumal Murugan’s latest book lies in his adept explorations of male and female relationships https://t.co/UXQehqHfhS

— New York Times Books (@nytimesbooks) October 21, 2018

Murugan also responded to his image being used. “I belong to the slums,” he wrote.

When contacted about the faux pas, BJP Delhi vice-president Rajan Tiwari told The Indian Express, “We will check with the design team about what happened.” BJP Delhi president Adesh Gupta and vice-president Ashok Goel, who were coordinating the programme, did not respond to The Indian Express’s repeated attempts seeking comment.