Women perform rituals while observing 'Chhath Puja'.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The BJP in Delhi has laid the red carpet for the Chhath Puja this year to woo Purvanchali voters, some of whom may go to their villages in Bihar to cast votes in the assembly elections. The state unit has deployed senior ministers and leaders to check the preparations at the ghats, used a machine to tackle the foam in the Yamuna that appears due to pollution, as well as put lights and other amenities at the sites.
One leader even went as far as drinking from the site to show that the water is safe and not polluted.
Earlier this week, senior BJP leaders and ministers carried out a recce of the ghats in the city. On Thursday, BJP leaders including state unit functionaries, ministers and MPs, visited ghats at Sonia Vihar, ITO and Rohini to review cleanliness, lighting, crowd-control and basic amenities ahead of the festival.
The party said it would ensure that around 1,500 ghats across the national capital are prepared for the event. This will include 23 large “natural” ghats on the Yamuna banks and some 1,300 artificial sites.
During the recce, Delhi BJP spokesperson Dr Anil Gupta took a sip of the Yamuna to show how the river is clean of pollution. Calling the move fake, AAP leaders sent a lite of Yamuna water to CM Rekha Gupta’s residence and dared her to drink it.
The BJP also used a defoamer to clean the surface of the river. The AAP countered it by showing visuals of Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma calling the method “deadly” in 2022.
The AAP fielded Delhi State President Saurabh Bhardwaj to counter the move who alleged that the BJP is continuously spreading lies to hide one of its own. “Now, to give a certificate of praise to its own Delhi government, the BJP lied to the people of Delhi and the country, claiming that it had cleaned the Yamuna,” he said.
He added that to create an atmosphere for the Bihar Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming to Vasudev Ghat on Chhath Mahaparva, for him Ganga water has been poured into this artificial ghat from the pipeline passing through Sonia Vihar Water Plant.