New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party MP Manoj Tiwari wrote a letter to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena seeking direction to officials for ensuring timely cleaning of River Yamuna and necessary preparations ahead of Chhath Puja celebrated post Diwali, reported news agency PTI. The North East Delhi MP also alleged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying he may "target" the festival of Purvanchalis to hide his failure of not cleaning the river.
Chhath is celebrated by a large number of Purvanchalis and is held at riverbanks and other water bodies through the performance of rituals in knee deep water to worship the Sun.
In his letter to the Lieutenant Governor, Tiwari accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led government of trying to ban Chhath in Delhi last year to “humiliate” 50 lakh people from the Purvanchal region living in the national capital and also to cover up its failure.
Last year the Delhi Disaster Management Authority(DDMA) had banned Chhath due to the Covid pandemic. However, later it had permitted celebration of the festival at designated ghats except along the Yamuna, amid vociferous protests by the BJP.
Kejriwal, who had first suggested that the ban was for the safety of the people in view of Covid, later came out in support of allowing the festival.
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"The way Kejriwal is serving lies to mislead the people and cover up scams of his government, it is suspected he may target Chhath to prevent the reality of Yamuna in Delhi to be exposed," Tiwari charged.
The BJP MP urged Saxena to speed up schemes for cleaning of Yamuna and issue directions to officers concerned for timely preparations at the riverbank for celebrations for Chhath.