NEW DELHI: Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday slammed the BJP-led Delhi government over Yamuna cleaning claims, challenging chief minister Rekha Gupta and minister Parvesh Verma to “drink a litre of Yamuna water” to prove their assertions.Bharadwaj said, “The chemical which was sprayed by the previous Delhi government is being sprayed by the current government. The government is lying that the Yamuna is clean. If Rekha Gupta says that the water in the Yamuna is clean, then I ask Rekha Gupta and Parvesh Verma to come with me and drink a litre of Yamuna water. I will be convinced that the Yamuna is now clean.”Earlier, Saurabh Bhardwaj accused the BJP of hypocrisy over Yamuna cleaning methods ahead of Chhath Puja, noting that the party had previously opposed using chemicals but is now endorsing them. Bhardwaj recalled that in 2022, the Arvind Kejriwal government sprayed chemicals to remove foam from the river, ensuring a clean environment for Chhath Puja devotees, while BJP MP Parvesh Verma had criticised the move, calling the chemicals “poisonous.”“We have completely exposed the way the Delhi chief minister has been lying to the people of Delhi. Before Chhath Puja in 2022, when Arvind Kejriwal’s government sprayed chemicals to remove foam in the Yamuna, Parvesh Verma came to the Yamuna and said that this chemical would make the Yamuna poisonous,” Delhi AAP President said to earlier.Earlier, minister Kapil Mishra on Chhath Puja said, “We are preparing for a grand Chhath Puja. Until last year, there was a ban on Chhath Puja in the Yamuna. When we sought information, there was no such court order. The Kejriwal government lied to the people of Purvanchal. This time, a grand Chhath Puja will be organised on the banks of the Yamuna. Arrangements for Chhath Puja are being made at 1,300 ghats. The Chief Minister herself is monitoring it. We are building modern Chhath ghats everywhere.”The Chhath festival begins with Nahay Khay on Saturday, October 25. The second day, Kharna, falls on October 26. Devotees offer prayers to the setting sun on October 27 and to the rising sun on October 28.(With agencies inputs)
