BJP MP Parvesh Verma wades into war of words over Chhath Puja in Delhi

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority has prohibited Chhath Puja on the banks of the Yamuna this year.

The political war of words over the celebration of Chhath in Delhi continued on Sunday with the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from West Delhi Parvesh Verma announcing that he will perform prayers on the banks of Yamuna in defiance of the DDMA ban, and challenged Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to stop him from doing so.

West Delhi BJP MP Parvesh Verma. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority has prohibited Chhath Puja on the banks of the Yamuna this year. Earlier, on September 30 the disaster body had banned the celebrations entirely, but allowed it with restrictions following protests by the BJP and the written appeals to the Centre by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and to the lieutenant governor Anil Baijal by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

LG is the chairperson of the DDMA.

Criticising Kejriwal for “not allowing Chhath puja celebrations at Yamuna ghats”, Verma said that he, along with members of the Purvanchal community. will perform the puja at ITO Chhath ghat at 11am on Monday. “If people will not celebrate the Chhath festival at ghats, then where will they offer prayers? On the roads? I’ll go to ITO Chhath ghat at 11am (on Monday) with purchanchalis to start the puja. I challenge Arvind Kejriwal to stop us from celebrating the festival at the ghats, if he can.”

The festival will be celebrated on Wednesday.

The Delhi government is likely to issue on Monday its full list of designated spots for celebration of Chhath puja in the city, said a senior government official on Sunday.

“There will be no arrangements at Yamuna and Hindon river banks this year because of pollution concerns, Covid-19 protocols and various construction projects. Locations are being identified in open areas within the city but the job turned out to be easier said than done because of jurisdiction-related issues and disagreements among agecies, mostly political. We have already started preparation in several locations. The final list should be issued on Monday,” said the official.

Some of the locations where temporary Chhat Ghats will be set up include Dwarka, Narela, Rohini, Malviya Nagar, and Palam.

The festival assumes political significance as Purvanchalis (natives of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) who are settled in Delhi and celebrate the festival are a major vote bank in the city.

Meanwhile, AAP MLAs Sanjeev Jha and Vinay Mishra staged a protest in Dwarka demanding that a Chhath ghat be constructed there, alleged that the BJP was trying to obstruct Chhath puja in the city.

“The BJP at many places in Delhi is stopping Purvanchalis from preparing Chhath ghats to obstruct the Chhath Puja. The AAP MLA and volunteers have come forward to construct Chhath ghat in Dwarka in response to this,” tweeted Jha who is the AAP legislator from Burari.

The AAP is in charge of the Delhi government but the BJP is in charge of the three municipal corporations (MCD). And then there is the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) which is regulated by the BJP-led Union government.

“All these agencies own land and need to invest in coordinated efforts to enable arrangements for Chhat Puja celebrations. The arrangements involve creating an artificial waterbody and providing basic facilities such as lights, water connection, power connection, toilets, changing rooms and space to ensure distancing. These arrangements basically need space -- from open grounds to parks in residential areas. The coordination efforts have witnessed friction, mostly over the last one week. But things look slightly better now,” the government official said.

Chhat Puja is a community festival that involves worshipping the Sun and taking dip in a water body. It is popular among people from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand -- collectively called the Poorvanchal region. People from these states form more than one-third of Delhi’s current population of around 20 million, according to government estimates and migration data from Census 2011.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor appealed to the people to not pay heed to the “provocative statements” of the AAP leaders. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the municipal corporations are developing ‘ghats’ for Chhath Puja, said.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on October 27 allowed celebration of Chhat Puja on November 10 in the capital city with strict protocols.

On September 30, the DDMA had issued an order prohibiting the celebration of Chhath Puja at riverbanks, near water bodies, open grounds, in temples, and other public spaces. Limited restrictions were imposed on other festivals such as Durga Puja and Dussehra.

Chhath Puja in public spaces was prohibited last year too because of the pandemic.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has protested against restrictions on Chhath Puja celebrations and organised several protests in October.

On October 9, Kejriwal said the DDMA prohibited the celebrations because of the inherent risk of transmission in the rituals which involve gathering in large numbers.

However, on October 12, after BJP’s Lok Sabha MP Manoj Tiwari sustained injuries during a protest outside Kejriwal’s residence in Civil Lines, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia wrote to Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya three days later, urging the Centre to draft protocols and issue necessary orders with regard to the festival.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on October 14 wrote to lieutenant governor Anil Baijal urging him to allow Chhat Puja celebrations in Delhi with adherence to Covid-19 protocols.