NEW DELHI, Oct 29 : Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his jibe on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of “insulting” Chhath devotees and resorting to “cheap publicity”.
Gupta, who is on a two-day visit to Bihar to campaign for the BJP candidates in the ensuing assembly polls, counter-attacked Gandhi with a long post on X, saying he began his poll campaign in a manner symbolising “political immaturity”.
Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Modi, alleging that he would do “anything for votes, even dance”, and accused the BJP of running the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar “by remote control”.
Kicking off his poll campaign with back-to-back joint rallies alongside the INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav in Muzafarpur and Darbhanga, Gandhi said, “You must have seen the drama on TV that Modi was going to take a dip in the Yamuna for Chhath Puja. It was shelved when it was exposed that a puddle had been formed with clean, piped water since the river is so filthy.”
Gandhi was referring to news reports that claimed PM Modi might participate in Chhath festival at Delhi’s Vasudev Ghat on Yamuna banks.
The manner in which Rahul Gandhi has begun his election campaign in Bihar is not only a “symbol of political immaturity” but also a “grave insult” to the faith of millions of Chhath devotees, the Delhi chief minister said in a post in Hindi on X.
“His (Gandhi’s) comment on Chhath and ridicule directed at Mother Yamuna clearly shows that his thoughts are so much distanced from Indian culture, Sanatan tradition and folk beliefs,” she said.
Gandhi did not like the celebration, faith and dedication with which devotees from Bihar worshipped ‘Chhathi Maiya’ during Chhath Mahaparv in Delhi, she charged.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the Delhi government presented an “incredible” confluence of faith and cleanliness on the Yamuna ghats, exemplifying devotion and dedication, she asserted.
Gupta-led Delhi’s BJP government made extensive preparations for Chhath that concluded on Monday, setting up temporary ghats along the Yamuna at 17 points, the first in many years. It also prepared 1,500 other ghats for the celebration of Chhath at various parks and other public places across the city.
“The derogatory remarks made by Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji reflect his political bankruptcy. This proves that the Congress has no agenda for Bihar, and, therefore, they are compelled to resort to personal accusations for cheap popularity,” Gupta charged.
She claimed earlier Chhath devotees were forced to perform the rituals in froth and filth in the Yamuna, while her government turned the ghats around ensuring sanitation and arranging various facilities there. (PTI)
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