New Delhi: The politics over the ban on Chhath puja celebrations at public places here intensified further on Monday with Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta declaring that the festival will be celebrated in a grand manner and the municipal corporations ruled by the party will make arrangements for it.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in an order last week prohibited Chhath Puja celebrations at public places, including riverbanks, water bodies and temples, in view of the COVID-19 situation.
Delhi BJP MP Manoj Tiwari has also started a ''Rath Yatra'' to take the opinions of Purvanchalis (people of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh settled in Delhi), and had also warned that the DDMA order will be defied if people are stopped for celebrating Chhath.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, however, had earlier alleged that the opposition was playing "dirty politics" over the issue.
"The BJP declares that we will celebrate Chhath Puja, and arrangements will be made for it by the municipal corporations," Gupta said at a press conference along with
Tiwari.
The BJP has vocally protested the Chhath Puja ban imposed by the Arvind Kejriwal government, and party leaders, including Tiwari, had been interacting with puja committees over the issue, Gupta said.
"We will make arrangements along with Chhath Puja Samitis. Not just symbolically, Chhath will be celebrated grandly with BJP workers systematically making all the arrangements," Gupta
said.
Meanwhile, the AAP on Monday slammed the Delhi BJP's move to celebrate Chhath Puja in a grand manner and accused it of playing politics in the name of religion.
The AAP said the BJP should understand that celebration of the festival at public places can lead to the spread of COVID-19.
AAP's chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj termed the Delhi BJP's declaration as "unfortunate" but said the Delhi government is holding discussions with experts to explore options for celebration of Chhath Puja without spreading coronavirus.