The Congress announced on Friday that it will build a dedicated Chhath ghat at the Yamuna riverbanks, which will be named the “Sharada Sinha Ghat”, similar to those at the Maha Kumbh. Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh, during a press conference, highlighted the contribution of the people from Poorvanchal in Delhi's development, particularly during the Congress-led government when the "city was transformed into one of the best in the world".
However, Singh criticised the BJP and AAP for allegedly exploiting the Poorvanchali community as mere vote banks, rather than addressing their concerns.
Singh alleged that both the BJP and AAP caused deep hurt to the sentiments of Poorvanchalis by preventing them from celebrating their most important religious festival, Chhath Puja, at the banks of the Yamuna river. He stated that while the river was highly polluted and the Delhi High Court had banned the festival due to the contamination, the AAP government did nothing to address the pollution.
"The Congress has taken a pledge to make Chhath Puja like the 'Maha Kumbh' when it returns to power, and will build a separate Chhath Ghat at the Yamuna banks, which will be declared as a separate district and named as Sharada Sinha Ghat," Singh said.
Sharada Sinha was a singer known for devotional Chhath songs. BJP president JP Nadda, whose father graduated from Patna University, had in Parliament equated Poorvanchalis with illegal immigrants Rohingyas and Bangladeshis, while Kejriwal said that Poorvanchalis were adding fake votes in Delhi, he alleged.
Singh claimed that a majority of people living in the 1797 unauthorised colonies in the capital are Poorvanchalis, who live in inhuman conditions without even basic civic facilities, like sanitation, potable water, roads, but neither
Kejriwal, nor the BJP showed any interest in improving their living conditions, he alleged.
In another press conference, the Congress alleged that the Kejriwal government has totally neglected and hurt the interest of Dalits, minorities, OBCs, advasis and the marginalised during his "misrule" over the past 10 years.
All India Congress Committee Delhi in-charge Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin asked Kejriwal to make his stand clear about the "increasing attacks and hatred" against Dalits, minorities, marginalised and advasis across the country.
"After the communal violence in Jahangirpuri and northeast Delhi areas, you neither visited the affected areas nor spoke publicly in favour of the victimised and vulnerable communities. As the then-CM of Delhi, why did you maintain silence?" he asked.
(With PTI inputs)
