The BJP on Wednesday slammed Delhi’s AAP government over the presence of toxic white froth in the Yamuna ahead of Chhath Puja and accused it of hurting people’s sentiments.
A layer of white froth over the Yamuna water has hurt the sentiments of Purvanchali people, said Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva.
Mr. Sachdeva and BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Wednesday inspected the Kalindi Kunj ghat and claimed that the AAP government was against the celebrations.
The Delhi BJP chief alleged that AAP had submitted an affidavit in court stating that the Chhath celebrations lead to pollution in the Yamuna and permission should not be given for it.
“The people of Delhi are still trying to understand why Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is so keen on disrupting the great festival of Chhath,” Mr. Tiwari alleged.
“We oppose Mr. Kejriwal’s anti-Hindu policy and the BJP will not tolerate it if the Arvind Kejriwal government continues to play with the faith of Hindus,” he added.
Delhi BJP Purvanchal Morcha president Neeraj Tiwari said that the money released by the government for the festival is being used to put up photos of Mr. Kejriwal.
Meanwhile, Mayor Shelly Oberoi said temporary ghats have been built in over 100 wards of Delhi and their construction in other wards will be completed by Thursday.
She said about ₹40,000 has been released by the Delhi government for arrangements of lights at each ghat and fogging has been carried out to control mosquitoes.
The Chhath celebrations will be held from November 17 to 20. The festival is predominantly celebrated by Purvanchalis, the Bhojpuri-speaking people from eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and parts of Jharkhand. A large number of them have settled in Delhi, making them one of the largest voter bases in the Capital.
