New Delhi: As Delhi gears up for Chhath Puja, a festival deeply ingrained in the city’s Purvanchali community, a political storm is brewing. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused the BJP of sabotaging the festivities, specifically targeting the demolition of a key Chhath ghat, setting the stage for a fierce political battle ahead of the 2025 Assembly elections.
The AAP, under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, has been actively promoting itself as a champion of the Purvanchali community, highlighting its efforts to increase the number of Chhath ghats in the city. This strategy is seen as a bid to woo the influential Purvanchali voter base, which holds significant sway in Delhi’s political landscape.
The AAP’s accusations have been met with fierce rebuttal from the BJP, who have countered by criticising the AAP government’s failure to clean the Yamuna River, the site of many Chhath rituals. The BJP has also alleged corruption in the AAP’s handling of funds allocated for the Yamuna’s cleanup.
“The BJP opposes the rights of these communities. I personally staged a protest in Greater Kailash against the destruction of a Chhath ghat,”AAP Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh claimed adding that the decision to the demolition of Ghatts shows the agenda of BJP against the people of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The political sparring has escalated to include the Congress, with Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav criticising the AAP government’s inadequate infrastructure for the festival, specifically citing the lack of dedicated Chhath ghats and the polluted state of the Yamuna.
Taking aim at the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, and BJP, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj criticised the BJP for hindering improvements for Chhath devotees, stating that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has obstructed a traditional path used by Dalit community members for their rituals.“The DDA officials have blocked a path used by Dalit members of our village for Chhath Puja,” he said.
