Delhi BJP chief admitted to hospital after Yamuna dip
BJP Delhi chief Virendra Sachdeva was hospitalized after a Yamuna dip to protest pollution. He vows to push for river cleaning ahead of Chhath Puja.
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva was admitted to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on Saturday morning for skin rashes and breathlessness, two days after he took a dip in the Yamuna to highlight the level of pollution in the river, the Delhi BJP said.
The party added that Sachdeva did not have any prior issues of breathlessness and skin rashes. Doctors examined the Delhi BJP chief at RML, prescribed medicines for three days, and discharged him at 10pm, said party leaders.
“For me, the cleanliness of the Yamuna before Chhath Puja is more important than my health, and today I am satisfied that my plunge into the Yamuna has triggered widespread criticism of the Kejriwal government’s corruption and negligence under the guise of Yamuna cleaning. As soon as I recover, I will visit chief minister Atishi to demand the cleaning of the Yamuna before Chhath Puja,” Sachdeva said.
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New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj said Sachdeva’s dip in the river has shaken the AAP government. “AAP’s deception on Yamuna cleanliness became evident when Sachdeva invited Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi to visit the Yamuna but neither showed up. The AAP government has done nothing except politicise the issue of Yamuna cleaning for the past decade. Once BJP comes to power, a Yamuna Cleanliness Tribunal will be set up to ensure continuous cleaning efforts,” Swaraj said.
Meanwhile, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said that the BJP was making a drama out of the issue. “The BJP is a party that creates pollution. It understands that only by doing drama can pollution be reduced. I think all governments and parties need to work together to fight pollution. I wish Sachdeva a speedy recovery but request him to stop the drama. When I was making the winter action plan, I had written a letter to the Delhi BJP president but till date, no suggestion has come. His drama continues and our work continues,” Rai said.
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The politics over the polluted river has intensified over the last week. Chhath will be celebrated between November 5 and 8 and involves devotees offering prayers to the Sun while standing in knee-deep water. Scenes of Chhath devotees standing in the polluted frothy waters of the Yamuna near Kalindi Kunj have caused public outrage in recent years. Every year, political parties blame each other for the toxic industrial pollutants in the river.