New Delhi: Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah has launched a blistering attack on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of failing to deliver on his promise to clean the Delhi stretch of the Yamuna River and transform it into a pristine waterway like Britain’s River Thames, media reports said.

At a rally held less than two weeks before the Delhi Assembly election, Shah highlighted pollution as one of the capital's key issues, particularly targeting the AAP government’s handling of air and water quality, reported NDTV.

“He [Kejriwal] promised he would purify River Yamuna in seven years and make it like London's River Thames,” Shah was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Mocking the unfulfilled pledge, he added, “He even said he would take a dip in the Yamuna in front of Delhiites. Arvind Kejriwal, the people of Delhi are waiting for your world-famous dip in the Yamuna.

“If not in Yamuna, he can go to the Mahakumbh and take a dip there to wash away his sins.”

Shah further pledged that the BJP would clean the Yamuna within three years if it came to power in Delhi.

Accusing the AAP leader of failing to keep promises, Shah alleged that Kejriwal broke his commitment to avoid using government resources by spending Rs 51 crore on a 50,000-square-foot residence dubbed "Sheesh Mahal."

He said, “In my political life, I have never seen anyone who lies so blatantly.”

Parvesh Verma, BJP candidate from New Delhi constituency, joined the campaign against Kejriwal, posting a photo of the AAP leader over the polluted Yamuna.

According to an October 2023 report by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), several river-cleaning projects under the Delhi Jal Board and Delhi Development Authority remain delayed, a fact noted in a submission to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

This is not the first time BJP leaders have targeted Kejriwal on Yamuna pollution. Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had challenged him to take a dip in the polluted river, accusing him of turning the holy Yamuna into a “dirty drain.”