As Chhath Puja nears, Delhi’s Yamuna River has become the focal point of a heated political confrontation between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government. On October 19, 2025, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj issued a provocative challenge to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Minister Parvesh Verma, urging them to drink a litre of Yamuna water to substantiate their claims of the river’s cleanliness. The BJP swiftly countered, accusing the AAP of squandering over ₹6,500 crore on ineffective clean-up initiatives during its 10-year tenure.

Bharadwaj criticized the BJP for employing the same chemical-spraying technique to reduce river foam that they had previously condemned as “poisonous” when used by the AAP government in 2022. “If Rekha Gupta claims the Yamuna is clean, let her and Parvesh Verma drink a litre of its water. Only then will I believe it,” Bharadwaj declared, accusing the government of misleading the public. The AAP leader highlighted the inconsistency, noting that Verma himself had criticized the chemical method during AAP’s rule.

In response, BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor dismissed Bharadwaj’s challenge as absurd, stating on X, “Who drinks river water directly with a glass?” He accused the AAP of deceiving Delhi’s residents for a decade and labeled their river clean-up efforts a ₹6,500-crore scam. Kapoor emphasized that the Rekha Gupta administration is committed to making the Yamuna suitable for bathing by 2026. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva further defended the government, praising its efforts to revive cultural traditions like Deep Utsav, which resonate with the public’s sentiments.

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The Yamuna, long plagued by pollution, has turned into a symbolic battleground ahead of the culturally significant Chhath Puja, a festival where devotees ritually bathe in the river. The ongoing dispute underscores deeper political tensions, with both parties leveraging the issue to sway public opinion. As the Bihar elections unfold concurrently, the debate over the Yamuna’s condition could ripple beyond Delhi, influencing voter sentiment in regions where the river holds cultural and economic importance. The question remains: will the politics of pollution overshadow tangible progress, or will concrete action finally restore the Yamuna’s sanctity?

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