As Chhat Puja celebrations kicked off in the Capital on Tuesday, the Delhi Congress alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the BJP-ruled Municipal Corporations were playing politics over the puja observed by a large number of Poorvanchalis living in Delhi.
Addressing a press conference, Delhi Congress spokesperson Sharmishtha Mukherjee alleged that people are facing problems at the Chhat Ghats as there is no cleanliness and no arrangements for clean water, as both AAP and the BJP were busy in “politics of conflict”.
“AAP government was discriminating against the various Chhat Puja Samitis as some Samitis aligned with the AAP are being given more funds while others are given meager funds,” she alleged.
Mahabal Mishra, former Congress MP, said he gave permission to construct a Ghat at ITO by granting Rs 2.5 crore though it was falling under the ‘O Zone’.
“Seventy eight Ghats were also constructed along the banks of the Yamuna under Congress rule in Delhi which are now in a dilapidated condition as they are filled with garbage and foul smell. , and in the absence of clean water, holding the Chhat Puja in these ghats has become impossible,” he charged.
Congress leader Poonam Azad said there are no proper arrangements at the railway stations in Delhi for Poorvanchali people to go to their native places to observe Chhat Puja.
“They are facing tremendous problems as the BJP-ruled Central Government has not made sufficient arrangements for these travellers such as additional trains. The existing trains are carrying double the capacity of travellers,” she added.