BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Saturday trained his guns on the Kejriwal government alleging it was humiliating Purvanchalis in Delhi by "banning" Chhath Puja on the banks of Yamuna. No immediate reaction was available from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over Tiwari's charges.
The Chhath Samitis are "extremely angry" as the Chhath ghats are not allowed on the banks of the Yamuna this year, the former Delhi BJP president claimed after a meeting with office bearers of the organising committees of the festival.
"Those scared of unity of Purvanchalis are targeting Chhath festival to humiliate them," Tiwari charged. The MP from northeast Delhi said a meeting was held against the Chhath ban at Yamuna banks, at his residence.
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"For years Chhath had been celebrated at the ghats on Yamuna banks without any obstacles. What circumstances have now come up that Chhath has been banned on the river banks," Tiwari said. He alleged the ban was an "insult" to 50 lakh Purvanchalis (Bhojpuri-speaking natives of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar settled in Delhi) for whom Chhath is the biggest festival.
Rashtriya Purvanchal Mahasangh president Manish Singh and other office bearers of Chhath committees attended the meeting at the BJP MP's residence. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that Chhath will be celebrated on a grand scale in Delhi after two years of coronavirus-enforced restrictions.
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He said the AAP government has arranged all the facilities at 1,100 places for celebrations of the festival, setting aside a fund of Rs 25 crore.
Last year, BJP MP Tiwari was injured after he was hit by a water cannon discharge while trying to scale a police barricade during a protest near Chief Minister Kejriwal's house against the ban on Chhath celebrations at public places.
Chhath, celebrated after Diwali, involves the offering of "arghya" by fasting women to the Sun god in knee-deep water. The four-day festival is hugely popular among Purvanchalis living in Delhi.
(With PTI Inputs)
