BJP MP Manoj Tiwari injured during protest outside Kejriwal's house against Chhath Puja ban

New Delhi: BJP MP Manoj Tiwari was injured Tuesday after he was hit by a water cannon discharge while trying to scale a police barricade during a protest near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s house against the ban on Chhath celebrations at public places, party leaders said. BJP leaders said Tiwari (50) was taken to the Safdarjung Hospital and was discharged after all his reports were normal. “Alongwith other protesters, Tiwari scaled police barricade to continue the protest march when a water cannon discharge hit him on the chest and neck. He fell down with others on the road sustaining injuries,” a Delhi BJP leader said. Tiwari was examined and treated by doctors at the Safdarjung Hospital and was discharged after all his medical reports were found to be normal, party leader Neelkant Bakshi said. A senior police officer said water cannon was used to disperse the protesters when they tried to cross the barricade. Tiwari fell down from the barricade but did not sustain any serious injuries and was discharged from the hospital, he said. Kejriwal had said the decision to prohibit Chhath Puja celebration at public places was taken in view of the coronavirus pandemic. However, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said during the protest that the party-ruled municipal corporations will make arrangements for Chhath celebrations. “The Kejriwal government may not make preparations for the Chhath puja, but the BJP-governed corporations will make adequate arrangements,” he said. The Delhi BJP president described the Kejriwal government’s decision as a “Tuglaqi farmaan” and said his party is opposing it as it is an attack on the religious feelings of Purvanchalis. A Delhi BJP statement said that besides Tiwari, many other leaders including Delhi BJP general secretary Dinesh Pratap Singh, Purvanchal Morcha president Kaushal Mishra, B N Mishra, Prabhash Chandra and Nivedita Tiwari also sustained injuries. Shailendra Singh has sustained head injury, said the statement. Before he was injured, Tiwari slammed the Kejriwal government questioning its decision to ban the Chhath celebrations, even though swimming pools, malls, weekly bazaars, markets and public transport are allowed to open. Tiwari is also leading a ‘‘Chhath Rath Yatra’’ in Purvanchali dominated areas of the city to take the feedback of people on the ban.