AAP, BJP in war of words over Yamuna cleaning claims

New Delhi, Oct 19 (PTI) AAP and BJP on Sunday engaged in a sharp war of words over Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's claim that Yamuna has been cleaned.

The AAP hit back at CM's claims that Yamuna has been freed from pollution, calling them a "blatant lie meant to mislead the public." Challenging Gupta and Minister Parvesh Verma, AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "If Rekha Gupta and Parvesh Verma drink just one litre of water from Kalindi Kunj, they will immediately realise how clean the Yamuna really is." Bharadwaj said the government is merely spraying defoaming agents to reduce visible foam, not actual pollution. "Spraying chemicals only lessens the froth, not the contamination -- the CM should do some reading before making such claims," he remarked, pointing out that the BJP government is doing nothing substantive.

"The BJP government has neither signed any agreement with Haryana nor stopped the drain coming from Najafgarh. Since Delhi is now under a BJP government, it is impossible that foam will not form in the Yamuna," he said.

Bharadwaj said there should be transparency in the matter instead of resorting to falsehoods. "What's the point of lying? If CM Rekha Gupta claims that the Yamuna has been cleaned, then come with me and drink a litre of its water.

"Bring your minister Parvesh Verma along too. If Rekha Gupta drinks Yamuna's water, I will accept that it has truly been cleaned," he said.

Responding to Bharadwaj's remarks, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor questioned both Arvind Kejriwal and Saurabh Bhardwaj, asking what their government did besides misusing funds under the pretext of cleaning the Yamuna.

In his post on X, he wrote: "Mr Saurabh -- you are educated too; so please tell us, who drinks water directly from a river? You've been in power for over 10 years, made grand claims about cleaning the Yamuna, but did nothing, and Delhi is facing the consequences." "The Aam Aadmi Party has deceived people for ten years in the name of Yamuna cleaning. More than Rs 6,500 crore was misused, and yet the sacred Yamuna has turned into a dirty drain," Kapoor alleged.

He said, by the end of 2026, the government under Gupta will make Yamuna clean enough to take a dip anywhere, the BJP spokesperson said. PTI SLB AMJ AMJ