NEW DELHI: You lost because of the curse of Yamuna Maa, lieutenant governor V K Saxena is learnt to have told outgoing CM Atishi on Sunday when she visited Raj Bhawan to submit her papers.
Sources also quoted Saxena telling Atishi that he had warned her boss Arvind Kejriwal about the “curse of Yamuna” after he got the Supreme Court to stall a project to clean the river.
According to sources in Raj Bhawan, Atishi did not respond to the LG’s remarks. When approached by TOI, the LG’s secretariat refused to comment on this account of Saxena’s conversation with Atishi.
Apex court’s stay on high-level committee on Yamuna in place for over 2 years now
The warning about the “curse” has its roots in a standoff between Saxena and Kejriwal two years ago. Faced with high levels of pollution in Yamuna, in Jan 2023, the National Green Tribunal had set up a high-level committee under LG to oversee rejuvenation of the river.
As the panel went about its task, Kejriwal voiced his support and offered assistance. However, Delhi government subsequently challenged the NGT order in the SC, with senior advocate A M Singhvi arguing that a domain expert should lead the panel. The stay has remained in place for over two years now.
During a meeting with Kejriwal after the SC ruling, Saxena is learnt to have told the AAP chief that he would face the curse of Yamuna.
Delhi government’s change in stance in the SC was attributed by the bureaucracy to Kejriwal’s fear that credit for the project would not accrue to AAP if it was executed under LG. In 2015, Kejriwal had promised to clean the Yamuna within five years but failed to initiate concrete measures.
His failure to make good on the pledge became a major issue in the poll campaign. BJP mocked him for this, reminding the electorate that Yamuna’s waters would turn so clean by 2025 that he would happily take a dip. The pitch played to migrants from Bihar, Jharkhand and UP who go to the Yamuna banks in lakhs during Chhath festival. Post-poll analyses show that large sections of Poorvanchalis voted for BJP, breaking away from AAP which they had backed in the last two assembly polls.
It also became the symbol of the larger worsening pollution crisis.
With the issue going against him, Kejriwal blamed Haryana government for “poisoning” the river, drawing adverse reactions from the neighbouring state as well as BJP.
Soon after the election verdict on Saturday, PM Narendra Modi hit out at APP for not respecting the beliefs of people, in what was seen as a reference to Chhath Puja where devotees are required to stand in a water body to offer ‘arghya’ to the Sun god.
“The beliefs of the people of Delhi were crushed under the feet of these people (AAP) and then they blatantly accused Haryana,” the PM said as he vowed to clean and beautify the river. He finished his speech by repeatedly chanting “Yamuna Maiya Ki Jai”.