Delhi Police on Monday detained Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal as she protested outside Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s residence over the government's failure to clean the Yamuna River. Maliwal, accompanied by a group of women from Purvanchal, carried water collected from the Yamuna to Kejriwal’s residence, accusing him of neglecting the river’s worsening condition.
Speaking to news agency ANI, she remarked that the Yamuna is "on a ventilator" while Kejriwal enjoys a luxurious lifestyle.
"Arvind Kejriwal has turned the Yamuna River into a drain. Black, dirty, rotten water is flowing in the Yamuna. The river is on a ventilator, while Arvind Kejriwal is in his palace and roams around in luxurious cars. Thousands of women from Purvanchal have come here to challenge him—he should not be so scared of women and should come out and take a dip in the dirty water of Yamuna and take a sip of that water," Maliwal said.
She further claimed that women from Purvanchal feel betrayed by Kejriwal’s unfulfilled promises. "The women of Purvanchal are saying that he will be cursed by Chhathi Maiya because the women have no other place to celebrate Chhath," she remarked.
Her protest comes amid legal discussions surrounding the pollution in the Yamuna. Recently, the Delhi High Court refused to lift the ban on performing Chhath Puja on the riverbanks, citing severe contamination. The court noted that nearly 1,000 alternative locations had been designated for the puja with adequate arrangements.
Swati Maliwal's 'Khaas Aadmi' Dig At Arvind Kejriwal
While at the banks of the Yamuna, Maliwal questioned the allocation of funds for cleaning the river. "The Yamuna River has transformed into a drain because of Arvind Kejriwal. I have come here with thousands of Purvanchali women, and the situation here is so bad that the stench has made it difficult for us to stand here. The Purvanchali women are going with me to Arvind Kejriwal's residence to ask him where the Rs 7,500 crores allotted for cleaning the river went," she said, as quoted by ANI.
Maliwal has been vocal in her criticism of Kejriwal ahead of the upcoming Delhi elections on February 5. On January 30, she had slammed the AAP chief for being "unbothered" about the rising garbage problem in the city, accusing him of transforming from an "Aam Aadmi" (common man) to a "Khaas Aadmi" (VIP person).