New Delhi: Minister Parvesh Verma on Thursday said Delhi govt has doubled the budgetary allocation for celebration of festivals like Chhath Puja and Kanwar Yatra.
“Under AAP govt, the 2024-25 budget estimate was Rs 25 crore (under services for religious activities head). But our govt and CM allocated Rs 55.2 crore, which means the festivals will be celebrated with more enthusiasm,” he told the assembly. The festivals, he added, will be organised without corruption, which was “routine under AAP govt”.
The announcement drew slogans of “Chhathi Maiya ki jai” from BJP members. The move comes in the backdrop of Delhi govt announcing several new initiatives for Hindu festivals. On March 30, the art and culture department will begin a two-week celebration with an event marking ‘Hindu Nav Varsh’ and ending on Baisakhi. The event, to be hosted at Delhi Assembly, will feature a performance by singer Kailash Kher, with CM Rekha Gupta, speaker Vijender Gupta, Delhi ministers and BJP seniors expected to attend.
The session also saw a seemingly ordinary word, ‘bhai’, sparking a heated exchange between BJP and AAP members, causing a 13-minute disruption. The ruckus started during Question Hour when Verma took a dig at AAP govt, saying it sanctioned Rs 80 crore for Teerth Yatra Samiti for 2024-25, but spent nothing.
“In 2024-2025, the previous govt, which heavily advertised its pilgrimage scheme, allocated a budget of Rs 80 crore for the CM’s pilgrimage scheme. However, shockingly, not a single rupee was spent, zero expenditure. This proves the scheme was only for publicity.”
AAP MLAs reacted angrily, with former CM Atishi standing up to counter Verma’s charge. As he tried to resume, Atishi and other AAP MLAs continued their protests. After failing to return to his speech, a seemingly exasperated Verma said, “Kahan se laaye ho bhai?”
Atishi stood up in protest again, saying Verma’s language was “unparliamentary”. Other AAP MLAs joined in, accusing him of showing “disrespect”. Verma countered, saying: “I just said ‘bhai’ (brother). What is unparliamentary about it?”
As the protest continued, the speaker ordered AAP’s Vishesh Ravi and Kuldeep Kumar to be marshalled out. “Atishiji is my sister, not my brother,” Verma added after a few more exchanges with AAP MLAs. The proceedings then returned to normal.
