With Yamuna being at the centre of the election discourse in Delhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday released a video flagging the issue of pollutants in the river and challenged AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal to take a dip in it. He said the "horrific condition" of Yamuna is the result of the confluence of negligence and corruption of the governments of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kejriwal.
Rahul shared on his YouTube channel his visit to the banks of the river on Wednesday here in which he highlighted how polluted the water of the Yamuna was.
"If you are a Delhi resident like me, then you must be very sad to see the plight of Yamuna ji. Yesterday morning I reached the banks of Yamuna ji and discussed with the local residents, boatmen and activists concerned about the condition of Yamuna," Rahul said in his post in Hindi along with the video.
"Yamuna is filled with garbage, dirt, stench and sewage - meaning that there is no river left. According to researchers, clean water of the river is taken out for sewage treatment and the sewage is dumped in the river itself," he said.
Rahul said earlier that devotees used to come in large numbers to take a dip in the Yamuna but now only a few people come and that too by risking their health.
"Ever since coming to power in Delhi, Kejriwal has been making empty promises - 'we will clean Yamuna, I will take a dip or else don't vote', and many more long speeches. And today again he is sitting with a bottle of Yamuna water making allegations and counter-allegations," he said."This is not just an insult to Yamuna ji, it is a mockery of the lives of the people of Delhi that has been going on for years. This horrific condition of Yamuna is the result of the confluence of negligence and corruption of the Modi and Kejriwal governments.In a post in Hindi on X, Rahul said, "Kejriwal ji, now 2025 has come. When will you take a dip in the Yamuna? Delhi is waiting!
In the video, Rahuli tells an activist that talk of cleaning Yamuna is a 'jumla' and has been made an excuse to make money by the dispensation.
Rahul also lashed out at Kejriwal over his five-year-old promise of making Yamuna water potable and his press conference on Thursday, saying it reflected his "hollowness".
In a stinging attack on AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, Rahul said the former Delhi chief minister "lies just like Narendra Modi" but is probably more "cunning" and "sophisticated" than the prime minister.
Addressing a public meeting in the Badli constituency here in the run-up to the February 5 Assembly polls, Rahul asserted that he and his party can never compromise with the BJP. "We will die but never compromise with these people." Rahul was campaigning for Devendra Yadav, who is contesting from Badli seat.
At the public meeting of the Congress on Thursday, Rahul said, "He (Kejriwal) speaks lies one after another just like Modi, there is no difference. There is only one thing, probably Kejriwal is even more 'chalaak (cunning)' than even Modi. So, you must not forget who stands with you, who protects the Constitution and who speaks the truth.
Training his guns at Kejrwal, the Congress leader said when the AAP supremo came into politics he used to move around in a small car but then he moved to a 'sheesh mahal' which has automated doors."The person who had said 'I will remove corruption, will bathe in Yamuna, will drink Yamuna water', that same person carried out the biggest liquor scam," Rahul said.
The AAP supremo on Thursday claimed that for the past several days, water with extremely dangerous ammonia levels has been flowing into the Yamuna from Haryana."When CM Atishi called her Haryana counterpart, urging him to stop sending this toxic water, he did nothing," Kejriwal alleged.
Hitting out at the media, Rahul said it would only show "Ambani wedding, Amitabh Bachchan's dance, cricket match, Modi's face and talk about his 'mann ki baat' but will not focus on real issues". "We don't want to hear his 'Mann ki baat'. We want to hear your 'Mann ki baat'. The BJP is against minorities, Dalits, backwards and farmers," he told the public.