[ad_1]
The political slugfest over cleaning the Yamuna continued Sunday morning, with BJP leaders targeting the AAP over cleaning the river while AAP hit back at the “state of the Yamuna” in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. Later in the evening, politicians across parties thronged Chhath Puja ghats, with no Covid restrictions in place for the first time in two years.
Releasing a video, Northeast Delhi BJP MP Manoj Tiwari claimed that water from the Najafgarh drain is responsible for polluting 70% of the river. “You can see how polluted water from Najafgarh drain is entering the Yamuna. (Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal is trying to stop people of Delhi from seeing.”
Tiwari added, “Till now, we have only seen videos of the CM saying every year that the Yamuna will be cleaned soon and he will take a dip. But we all have seen how the river has been converted into a drain. People who take a dip in this water are actually risking their lives…”
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh hit back, tweeting a video and claiming it is from Mathura which shows foam all over the river bank.
Later in the day, senior leaders including BJP MPs Tiwari, Parvesh Verma, Ramesh Bidhuri, BJP Delhi chief Adesh Gupta, AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Environment Minister Gopal Rai, and AAP MLAs Durgesh Pathak, Saurabh Bhardwaj and Kailash Gahlot visited the ghats.
Rai said, “After CM Kejriwal formed the government in Delhi, Chhath Puja has expanded at a large scale. Chhath Puja was held at more than 1,100 ghats across Delhi. There was a slight interruption due to Covid, but this year, the festival is being organised with great enthusiasm.”
Chhath Puja is celebrated in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, and eastern Uttar Pradesh. It is tied to politics in the capital as it is one of the major festivals of Purvanchalis, who constitute more than 30% of Delhi’s population. People from eastern UP and Bihar are believed to be in the majority in 16 of 70 Assembly seats, as per a survey by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS).
[ad_2]
Source link