New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS): The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday alleged that the BJP attempted to disrupt the organising of Chhath Puja, thus disrespecting the faith of the people of Purvanchal.

Addressing a joint press conference, AAP MLAs Sanjeev Jha and Kuldeep Kumar said like every year, this time too, BJP members politicised Chhath Puja.

“BJP Senior leader and Delhi's MP Manoj Tiwari went to the ghats and claimed that the Delhi Government does not allow Chhath celebrations on the Yamuna banks. Every child in Delhi knows why Chhath isn't celebrated on the Yamuna River. The NGT and High Court had ordered that Chhath Puja wouldn't be held on the Yamuna banks,” said Jha.

“Therefore, the Delhi government didn't organise Chhath Puja on the Yamuna banks. There could be two things here: Either Manoj Tiwari doesn't know the ground reality, or if he does, he's deliberately misleading people,” said Jha.

Kumar said that on Sunday, BJP's councillor Munesh Dedha, representing the Kondli ward, in his intoxication of power, tore posters of Surya Bhagwan, Chhath Maiya, the committee, and the government.

“The BJP councillor abused them. I believe that people from Purvanchal, Bihar, and Jharkhand hold great reverence for Chhath Maiya. Their sentiments were insulted. All of this happened because this Chhath Puja is organised at the DDA ground's shelter for humans,” said Kumar.

“Dedha continuously threatened the committee members for the past week, stating that Chhath Puja wouldn't happen on that ground. When the Chhath Puja pandal was set up there, the BJP councillor couldn't tolerate it and made every effort to stop Chhath Puja. He threatened officials and the committee, but despite that, Chhath Puja happened there. Those who claim to support the people from Purvanchal, if they don't take action against the BJP councillor, it will be clear that the entire BJP is involved in this,” he added.