‘Artificial Yamuna’ created for PM’s ceremonial Chhath dip in Delhi, claims AAP; BJP hits back

After going live on ‘X’ to show the artificial ghat that has been created near ISBT, AAP’s Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj held a press conference. The BJP, he claimed, “has built an artificial pond along the Yamuna, filled with filtered water from the Wazirabad treatment plant pipeline that supplies Delhi’s drinking water so that the Prime Minister can take a dip for cameras.”

“To fool the public and deceive devotees from Bihar and Purvanchal who come for Chhath, the BJP has stopped water going to UP farmers via the Eastern Canal and released it into the Yamuna…,” Bharadwaj said, “But the BJP has made no reduction in Yamuna’s pollution; they are simply adopting new tricks to hide their lie.”

Bharadwaj cited a recent Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) report, warning that Yamuna water “can cause serious diseases even if one bathes in it,” as he argued that the BJP was “risking people’s health and faith for Bihar votes.”

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi always takes care of his health — have you ever heard of him catching the flu or typhoid? That is why they have created this fake river of filtered water for him, while the ghats for poor Purvanchali people are left on the real Yamuna full of filth and excreta. Even if Purvanchalis die, the BJP’s propaganda must go on,” Bharadwaj added.

AAP’s top leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Atishi, too launched an attack on X, calling the alleged “filtered-water pond” a “shameful insult” to Chhath devotees.

Kejriwal wrote, “The BJP has made a mockery of the deep religious sentiments attached to Chhath Parv in Delhi.” Former deputy CM Sisodia accused the BJP of “tampering with the faith of Chhath vratris,” saying, “By insulting the faith of devotees, BJP has attacked their deepest beliefs and trust.”

Chhath Puja has been an important festival in the Capital. However, this year, the celebrations have gained political significance with the state elections in Bihar round the corner. The city has a huge migrant population from Purvanchal with the power to influence political narratives in both states.

The BJP government has promised grand arrangements across all the ghats in the city.

Even as the AAP leaders have been claiming that the BJP’s elaborate Chhath preparations are aimed at the Bihar electorate and not on improving Delhi’s environment, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva responded saying that this is “the first-ever instance in which an opposition party has protested against the government’s efforts to ensure cleanliness and sanitation.”

He added that the AAP government had banned Chhath Puja on the Yamuna banks between 2018 and 2024, and was now “creating a hue and cry” because the current government had “completed basic cleaning of the river and made natural ghats available for devotees.”

“The Bihar community of Delhi wants to ask two direct questions to the AAP leadership. On what administrative basis did the AAP government impose a ban on Chhath Puja on the Yamuna banks from 2018 to 2024? And why does the AAP leadership object to Rekha Gupta’s government ensuring sanitation and clean water at the ghats?” he questioned.

Meanwhile, extending her greetings on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that under the government’s motto of “Virasat Bhi, Vikas Bhi”, the administration is celebrating every festival “with public participation and traditional dignity.” She added that all necessary arrangements had been made to ensure devotees could perform rituals comfortably.

Participating in the Kharna Puja ceremony in the evening, Gupta offered prayers alongside devotees and said this year marks the first time that the Delhi government is organising Chhath Puja on such a large scale across the city.

“Chhath is not just about faith, it symbolises unity, cooperation, and our shared cultural values. Our goal is to make it a festival that reflects cleanliness, culture, and good governance,” Gupta said.