New Delhi: The festive season in Delhi appears to be headed for a contentious closure with a clash between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the opposition BJP over the ghats for bathing during the coming Chhath puja. The parties have accused each other of being "anti-Purvanchali" and AAP has alleged that the police are deliberately closing down ghats and pushing around the poor who are waiting to celebrate Chhath.
The four-day Chhath puja which started today, is the veneration of the sun. It is the biggest festival of Bihar and Jharkhand and is observed with enthusiasm by the migrant Bihari community across the country. It is also observed in parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
In the national capital, several ghats on the Yamuna and other water bodies are reserved for the devotees, who bath and make offerings both to the rising and setting sun. The trouble this time is over the Satpula ghat in south Delhi, which has been a traditional spot for Chhath puja.
There was tension between the BJP and AAP supporters and the police came in to restore order.
"The police have resorted to full-scale hooliganism," senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj told reporters today.
"The poor, particularly Dalits, are celebrating Chhath and the police are barricading the ghat so they can't celebrate. This is being on the instructions of the BJP's Bansuri Swaraj," he added.
The BJP's Shikha Rai, meanwhile, alleged that the DDA group that has clearance to celebrate Chhath, are not being given access to the ghat.
The local MPs and MLAs have been here since yesterday disrupting construction work. The labourers are being beaten up... I don't understand -- if you are anti-Hindu, anti-Purvanchali, why not just say so," she said.
Putting up tents and portable changing rooms and organising the space on the ghats are among the preparatory work for the celebrations.
The BJP said they have sought clearance from the DDA, and the AAP claims that they have clearance from the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.
The clash comes ahead of the elections in Delhi, scheduled in February next year, and the support of the Purvanchali community would be crucial for both sides.
Bansuri Swaraj, the daughter of former Union minister, Late Sushma Swaraj, and a BJP MP from the national capital, is expected to visit the spot this evening.