Lift ban on Chhath, demands BJP from Delhi government

Delhi BJP leaders and workers staged a protest near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence here on Tuesday against the ban on celebration of Chhath festival in the capital.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari got injured during the protest and was rushed to Safdarjung hospital. He sustained an injury on his ear, said party leader Neelkant Bakshi.

Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta and others condemned the Kejriwal-led Delhi government for the ban on the festival that is celebrated by lakhs of Purvanchalis in the capital.

Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), in its order on September 30, prohibited Chhath at riverbanks, water bodies and other public places in view of Covid. However, Gupta asserted on Monday that Chhath would be celebrated grandly and the BJP-ruled municipal corporations would make arrangements for it.

The protesters demanded the Kejriwal government send a proposal to DDMA for lifting the ban on the festival.

Earlier, Kejriwal had said that the decision to prohibit Chhath at public places was taken in view of the health and safety of the people.

Chhath is mostly celebrated in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Madhesh region of Nepal. The puja is dedicated to Solar deity and chiefly celebrated by Bihari’s and Nepalese along with other diaspora. It is part of ancient Hindu Vedic festivals.

(Cover: Devotees performing Chhath puja at Dadar chowpatty on occasion of Chhath puja PHOTO: Getty images)