Introduction
A fresh political controversy erupted in the national capital on Sunday after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of creating an artificially cleaned pond in the polluted Yamuna river to facilitate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s symbolic Chhath Puja dip.
AAP leaders alleged that the BJP orchestrated a “photo-op setup” near the Kalindi Kunj stretch of the river, while the rest of the Yamuna remains choked with toxic foam and industrial waste.
The Allegation
Senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that BJP workers and municipal officials “constructed a temporary clean-water enclosure” using barricades and pumps to make it appear as if the Yamuna had been purified for the Prime Minister’s religious ritual.
“This was nothing but political drama,” Bharadwaj said at a press briefing. “An artificial pond was created overnight using filtered water. The Prime Minister took a dip there while the rest of the Yamuna continues to stink and foam.”
AAP also released drone images purportedly showing two distinct water zones—one clean and one visibly polluted—separated by barricades in the riverbed.
BJP’s Response
The BJP has dismissed AAP’s claims as “baseless and politically motivated.”
Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana said the Prime Minister’s Chhath participation was an act of faith, not politics.
“The Prime Minister offered prayers like millions of devotees across the country. AAP should stop insulting Hindu traditions to gain headlines,” Khurana said, adding that the Yamuna cleaning efforts were a joint responsibility of the Delhi government and the Centre.
He further alleged that AAP was trying to “divert attention from its own failure” to control industrial effluents and sewage inflows into the Yamuna despite being in power in Delhi for nearly a decade.
The Chhath Puja Optics
The Chhath Puja, an ancient festival honoring the Sun God, holds deep emotional resonance in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, both politically crucial states.
PM Modi’s participation in the festival for the first time in Delhi was widely televised and praised by BJP leaders as a “historic moment celebrating Indian traditions.”
However, environmental activists and AAP leaders argue that the visual presentation overshadowed the reality of the Yamuna’s pollution crisis, with large portions of the river still covered by toxic foam caused by chemical discharge and untreated sewage.
Yamuna’s Pollution Reality
Despite multiple clean-up initiatives under the Namami Gange and Yamuna Action Plan, experts say the river’s toxicity levels remain alarmingly high.
Environmental scientist Dr. Sunita Narain said that while short-term cosmetic cleanups are possible, “sustainable Yamuna revival needs long-term sewage treatment and industrial compliance.”
“Building artificial ponds doesn’t clean rivers,” she noted. “It only hides the truth temporarily.”
Political Context
The timing of the controversy is significant, coming just months before key assembly elections in Delhi and Bihar, where both AAP and BJP are aggressively mobilizing voters through cultural and religious outreach.
Analysts say the “Chhath optics” could become a flashpoint in the ongoing war of narratives — between BJP’s religious symbolism and AAP’s governance-focused politics.
Conclusion
As videos of PM Modi performing Chhath rituals continue to circulate online, AAP’s allegations have added a political undertone to what was meant to be a spiritual gesture.
Whether this controversy will resonate with voters or fade as another political skirmish remains to be seen — but it has once again highlighted how faith, environment, and politics intertwine in India’s capital.
