MNS opposes Chhath Puja at Banganga, threatens to stop ward meeting

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has protested against Chhath Puja at the Banganga complex in Mumbai. After a meeting on preparations for the festival began in D Ward, MNS office-bearers and workers turned aggressive and warned that they would stop the meeting outright. Information had come that the meeting was to be held in the presence of an assistant commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The MNS then said this Chhath Puja would not be allowed to take place. Workers also raised slogans loudly.

Speaking to the media, MNS workers said that these were others' festivals, that they were welcome to celebrate them and that there was no reason to object. But they said the celebrations should be held in their own state, and that there should be no show of strength here. They asked for whom this Chhath Puja was being performed, why the administration was pressing so hard for it, and why a stage was being prepared for the participants. They said that when MLA Lodha holds meetings, they wanted to know what he was doing for Hindu festivals. The MNS also asked why immersion of Ganpati or Devi idols was not allowed in the Banganga tank, yet the authorities were ready to host Chhath Puja there.

The MNS said there had been large-scale water pollution at Banganga during Pitru Paksha, with fish dying and a foul smell spreading across the area. It said this was why it had opposed the entire process of Chhath Puja. The party said that whatever happened, it would not let Chhath Puja take place. It issued a stern warning that it would take to the streets and would not let the planned meeting go ahead.

MNS workers were later told that there was no meeting. The MNS then said that they would not leave until they were officially informed that Chhath Puja had been cancelled. The MNS also criticised the BJP, saying that elections were due in Uttar Pradesh and the BJP wanted to play this politics.