The row over Arvind Kejriwal’s comments on Yamuna continued today with Congress’s Rahul Gandhi this time holding him accountable for the river’s sorry state. In a video released today, Mr Gandhi is seen doing a thorough recce of the river, taking a boat ride, taking to boat men, locals and researchers. His conclusion — very little has been done over the last five years to improve the condition of the river that flows through the heart of Delhi and contributes to the pollution of Ganga.
In the video, Mr Gandhi begins where he left off yesterday — “Five years ago, Mr Kejriwal said he would take a dip in the Yamuna”.
Then begins the detailed exploration that takes in the garbage and sewage dumped in the river and views of people taking a dip in the muck.
The researcher he spoke to, gave a 360 degree view of the situation, including the pollutants flowing in from the upper reaches, diversion of water that is making it difficult to flush out the garbage and the faulty sewage treatment plants that are contributing to the mess.
The people he spoke to were unanimous in their condemnation of any river cleaning process, declaring them to an eyewash meant to siphon off money.
Days ahead of the assembly election in Delhi, Mr Kejriwal had claimed that the BJP government of Haryana was “mixing poison” in the city’s water supply in an attempt to “create chaos… hoping the blame will fall” on his party’s administration.
But his bizarre claim has been slammed by both the BJP and the Congress. Following a BJP complaint, the Election Commission had asked him to produce evidence backing up his claims.
When Mr Kejriwal’s citing of a Jal Board letter was not considered and acceptable and the Commission sought more concrete evidence, the former Chief Minister of Delhi responded with a “drink if you dare” challenge.
“We have four bottles… will send to each one of them… please drink and show us. Then we will believe,” he said in response, pointing to a row of plastic bottles filled, he said, with Yamuna water.