Delhi Congress has criticised the drama around the use of a temporary Chhath Puja Ghat by sitting AAP MlA from Kirari and former BJP MlA. Congress leader from Kirari Assembly seat Pratyush Kanth said the fight between two parties clearly shows that local leaders of both the parties are hand in glove with the land mafias of the area.
"Kirari the largest urbanised slum in the city, urgently needs a hospital, schools, clean drinking water, sewage system etc, but the former BJP MlA and present AAP MlA do not want to work for development and growth in the area. They think they can fool the poor people of Kirari by whipping religious sentiments of people and ignoring the real developmental issues. The Chhath Ghat issue is being encouraged by both the parties at the behest of local land mafia. Undoubtedly, we need a big Chhath Ghat in Kirari and Congress demands from the Government to allot land and immediately give us a clean, organised Ghat where we can perform Puja," said Kanth.
The Congress leader said, "Since the Kirari constituency was created, BJP or AAP Party has had their MlAs here. MlAs from both these parties have been Purvanchalis and ironically, they suddenly recollect the Chhath Puja Ghat issue only a few days before the festival. BJP MlA, Anil Jha won twice from here and now AAP MlA Rituraj Jha is here for the last two years and I can say for certainty they have no intention of building any Chhath Ghat. They are just tools in the hands of big land mafias and slum lords who control the politics of Kirari."
More than 95 per cent of the population of Kirari is Purvanchali. "Since, Kirari constituency was made, there is not a single Chhath Puja Ghat made by the Government. There are a couple of small Ghats made by locals. The truth is about 50,000 people, mainly women, do Chhath in open land fields, where a trench is made a few days before the festival and these trenches are filled with water a day before the Chhath", he added