‘Will not follow DDMA order. No one can stop us from performing Chhath rituals’: BJP MP Manoj Tiwari

Manoj Tiwari also hit out at the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government for “stopping people from celebrating Chhath” on the banks of Yamuna.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Manoj Tiwari reached Yamuna ghat to perform Chhath Puja on Wednesday, despite a Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) order prohibiting the rituals at public places, including on the banks of Yamuna."We will not follow the DDMA order” Tiwari told reporters.

“No one can stop us from performing our rituals. DDMA's work is to clean the Yamuna and not to ban people from going there," said Manoj Tiwari 

“No one can stop us from performing our rituals. DDMA's work is to clean the Yamuna and not to ban people from going there," he added.

Tiwari also hit out at the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for “stopping people from celebrating Chhath” on the banks of Yamuna. He urged the apex court to look into the ban imposed by DDMA.

"Instead of preventing flow of drains such as Najafgarh nullah, the Kejriwal government is stopping people from celebrating Chhath at the banks of the river. The Supreme Court should take note of the situation and the Kejriwal government should be treated like a criminal for playing with the health of the people," Tiwari said at a press conference earlier in the day.

DDMA had released an order on September 30 prohibiting Chhath celebrations in public but amended its order a month later after serious backlash from BJP. The amended order released by DDMA on October 28 allowed Chhath celebrations to be held in designated spaces with proper Covid-19 protocols in place but banned celebrations along the Yamuna.

Following in Tiwari’s footsteps, BJP MP from West Delhi Parvesh Verma reached Yamuna ghat at ITO, claiming that Delhi Police was not allowing entry of devotees, adding that “We came here and allowed their entry. We arranged clean water here. I am happy that people are performing their rituals.”

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia countered BJP’s claims, alleging that the AAP government has increased the number of ghats to 800 for devotees.

“Before 2015, Chhath Puja was organised only at 80-90 ghats, only a select few from BJP-Congress could use these ghats. Once the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power in Delhi, the number of ghats were increased exponentially because the AAP cares for the Purvanchali population of the city. This time, despite Covid-19, the Delhi government has made grand arrangements for Chhath Puja at more than 800 ghats,” Sisodia said during a press briefing.

Yamuna is also currently reeling under layers of toxic foam causing the Delhi government to resort to measures like setting up bamboo barricades and sprinkling water. AAP leader and Delhi Jal Board chairman Raghav Chadha alleged that the toxic foam in Yamuna was a gift to Delhi from the governments in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.