North East Delhi BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, on Wednesday, dared the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), which had prohibited Chhath celebrations at public places, including the Yamuna banks, saying he will not follow the DDMA order and nobody can stop him from performing the Chhath puja rituals.
After protests against the ban by the BJP, the DDMA had tweaked its order and allowed Chhath celebrations at "designated sites" barring the banks of Yamuna.
However, the BJP MP, who reached Yamuna Ghat in Sonia Vihar to perform the rituals, said the DDMA's duty is to clean Yamuna and not to ban people from going there.
The festival of Chhath, popular among Purvanchali inhabitants of the national capital, is celebrated with paying of obeisance ('arghya') to the setting Sun on Wednesday evening. It will conclude with 'arghya' to the rising Sun on Thursday.
A few days ago, Tiwari had slammed the AAP government over heavy pollution in Yamuna saying, "Instead of preventing flow of drains such as Najafgarh nullah, the Kejriwal government is stopping people from celebrating Chhath on 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 health of the people."
The BJP had claimed that banning of Chhath celebrations on the banks of Yamuna was part of the attempt to cover up the government’s failure to clean the river.
"Arvind Kejriwal ji, you banned Chhath at Yamuna banks to cover up failure of your government to clean the river," Delhi BJP president Adesh GuptaDelhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said.