In this festive season, the Delhi Congress and the BJP are in a tug of war in trying to lure north Indian voters, especially people of eastern UP and Bihar.
On October 21, the BJP-led MCD declared public holiday on the occasion of Chhath Puja and the mayor said that she would personally look after the arrangements.
But the Congress-led Delhi government doesn’t want the MCD to take all the credit. The government, in a statement on Tuesday, declared a restricted holiday on Chhath Puja and also reminded that the Delhi CM was the first to have started the restricted holiday trend on Chhath Puja in year 2001.
“The declaration of a restricted holiday for the festival of Surya Sashthi (Chhath Puja) was started in the year 2001 by the present chief minister with the approval of the then Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi and the same is being continued thereafter every year.
In the calendar year 2011 Chhath Puja falls on Tuesday, November 1, and has been declared as restricted holiday. This can be availed by any government servant who may so desire,” it said.
The officials said that the government of India has now declared gazetted golidays and restricted holidays for the calendar year 2012 wherein Chhath Puja has been declared a restricted holiday, which falls on Monday. The government of India incidentally has done this for the first time whereas the government of Delhi has been following this practice since the year 2001.
However, the Delhi BJP on Tuesday pressed its demanded a gazetted holiday on the occasion of Chhath Puja claiming that the Bihar CM has raised the issue with the Delhi CM last week.
Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta claimed that on Saturday during the NDC meeting, Mr Nitish Kumar had met Mrs Sheila Dikshit separately and requested her to declare holiday on the day of Chhath festival.
“Nitish Kumar had also told Dikshit that there is no constitutional, legal or administrative hindrance in declaring public holiday on Chhath festival in Delhi,” Mr Gupta said.