Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri will inaugurate the "Chhath Vrati Special Vaccination Campaign" in Delhi on Tuesday.
The campaign, aimed at vaccinating people against COVID-19 infection ahead of the Chhath celebrations in Delhi, is set to run under the leadership of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Manoj Tiwari.
Speaking to ANI, Tiwari said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier said that the Chhath festival should be celebrated with all the security and precautions. So first of all, people should be vaccinated against COVID-19 infection. In this view, we (BJP) are going to run the "Chhath Vrati Special Vaccination Campaign" in association with Delhiites Foundation."
Tiwari further informed that the BJP aims to administer 10,000 vaccine doses in the national capital before November 9 and the workers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are also engaged in the campaign. The BJP MP added that the party is trying its best to make this campaign successful.
"We will visit every area of Delhi and ask people to get vaccinated. Also, we will aware people of the importance of the vaccine and inform them that the BJP is running this campaign independent of the Delhi government," Tiwari stated.
"We have divided Delhi into a total of 10 sectors. 4,000 vaccine doses will be administered in my Lok Sabha constituency and the rest of the doses will be inoculated in other areas of the national capital. The campaign will begin from the Burari area of Delhi tomorrow," he added.
Speaking on the ban on Chhath celebrations in Delhi, the BJP MP said that the festival should not be a matter of politics. "It was Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who politicised it as he wrote a letter to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal requesting him to permit Chhath Puja in the national capital after imposing the ban himself," he stated.
"Though the chief minister revoked his decision under the pressure of Opposition, we are still thankful to him. We have no ulterior motive in organising this campaign and there is no politics here. BJP only wants security and safety of the people," he added.
Earlier on September 30, the Delhi government stated the Chhath puja celebration shall not be allowed in public places, public grounds, riverbanks, and temples citing the COVID-19 pandemic in the national capital.
An order issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) advised the public to celebrate Chhath puja at their homes.
Later, CM Kejriwal wrote a letter to Delhi LG requesting him to permit Chhath Puja in the national capital.
( With inputs from ANI )
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