Advising Prime Minister Narendra Modi to not attend the cultural festival organised by Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Janata Dal United JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav on Wednesday said "no action is being taken against the organiser as the government in now paying back to the godman for his support earlier".
"This man supported the government, and now he is reaping the benefit. The President has pulled out of the festival, and I believe that even our Prime Minister should not attend it. Even environmentalists are slamming this event," Yadav told ANI.
"Army men are being put to work on this project. The DDA has denied permission to this project twice. The NGT has allocated two committees to review the project, and both the committees gave adverse reports, still nobody is putting a halt on the project," he added.
Yadav further criticised the event, asserting that the festival is of no use to the nation and might add on to the current safety concerns.
"There is news that terrorist have intruded into the country, and the event organiser says 35 lakh people will be attending the cultural event, who will be responsible if anything goes wrong. The massacre will be huge. I don't understand how this event will help the nation," he said.
The (NGT) will today continue to hear the plea seeking to stop construction of temporary structure on the Yamuna floodplain for the event.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Swantanter Kumar had yesterday asked the Ministry of Environment and Forests to file an affidavit today and tell why no environmental clearance is needed for raising temporary structures.
