Delhi Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) VK Saxena on Wednesday approved designated ghats for Chhath Puja on the Yamuna River and directed the Delhi Government to ensure basic amenities, including clean ghats, security and water for devotees.
He also cautioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal against “misleading” and “premature” publicity. Kejriwal had recently announced that this year the Government has set up 1,100 ghats along the river. The tweet had allegedly caused confusion, with many people assuming that the puja could be performed anywhere along the Yamuna.
Sources at Raj Niwas said that the L-G has approved the file on Chhath Puja sent to him by the Chief Minister but also took note of Kejriwal's tweet on October 21. The L-G wrote in the file, "The publicity on the issue was done even before the matter was placed for my consideration and before I could formulate an independent opinion on the subject."
Criticizing the L-G's move, the AAP objected to the language used by Saxena for the Chief Minister of Delhi and said that he has no business to publicly reprimand the Chief Minister daily. "L-G is lowering the dignity of the chair he occupies by publicly abusing Hon'ble CM daily. Hon'ble CM is an elected representative who has been elected for the third consecutive time with historic margins. The L-G is hungry for cheap publicity and wants to see his name in newspapers daily," the AAP said.
In the note, the L-G said, “The tweet gave the impression that the Chhath festival will be celebrated on all Yamuna Ghats which is misleading and may cause confusion in the public as the NGT has allowed puja only at designated sites. This is seriously problematic as it violates the basic principles of the scheme of governance.