Guj CM, Bihar Dy CM inaugurate new 'chhath' ghat on Sabarmati

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Tuesday inaugurated a special chhath puja ghat built on the Sabarmati river here in the presence of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi claimed that people from Bihar were living in Gujarat in a peaceful manner and the state government here has successfully foiled attempts by some elements to divide the people on regional lines.

He was referring to the recent attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants, including those from Bihar, in parts of Gujarat after a 14-month-old baby girl was allegedly raped in Sabarkantha district by a native of Bihar in September.

Modi said the 300-metre long ghat, built at a cost of Rs 11 crore by the state tourism department, will become an inspiration for the Bihar government to construct a similar ghat on the banks of river Ganga in Patna.

"People from Bihar are residing peacefully in Gujarat. Attempts by some elements to disturb peace in the state on the basis of region and language were successfully foiled by the government," he said.

Addressing the gathering, Rupani said the celebration of festivals like Chhath in Gujarat realises the concept of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He also praised people from different states saying they work in Gujarat and contribute to the growth of the state.

He urged the people to work for the service of Mother India irrespective of which state or language category they belonged to. The two leaders also offered prayers to the sun.