The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday set up a stage at the Yamunas Chhath Ghat with two chairs for Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal to remind them of the AAPs promise to clean the river. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva took a dip in the Yamuna and "sought forgiveness" for the "corruption" of the Delhi government, which he alleged looted funds meant for cleaning the river, a party statement said. Meanwhile , the Aam Aadmi Party has sharply criticised the BJPs politics around Chhath Ghat in Delhi. AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh stated that while Arvind Kejriwal supports Purvanchal by providing the best possible facilities for Chhath Puja, BJP leaders insult people from Bihar and UP. The AAP leader also questioned that the Prime Minister, JP Nadda, and the BJP, asking whether the people of Delhi did not vote for them. On Wednesday, Sachdeva had challenged Kejriwal to take a dip in the river, saying that he had promised the people of Delhi that he would clean it before Chhath puja 2025 so that they could bathe in it. Ahead of the Purvanchali festival of Chhath, which is celebrated days after Diwali, the ruling AAP and the BJP have been slugging it out over heavy pollution and toxic froth in the river. On Thursday, the BJP set up a stage at Chhath Ghar near ITO. On the stage, which was covered with a red carpet, were two tufted chairs with the names of Kejriwal and Atishi. "We have been waiting for Kejriwal and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi to come and have a look at the condition of the Yamuna. Two chairs and a red carpet have also been put here to welcome them," Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said. Sachdeva took a dip in the river in the morning and "sought forgiveness from Maa Yamuna as (the governments of) Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi Marlena looted funds worth Rs 8,500 crore for cleaning the Yamuna but did not clean the river". "This Kejriwal-Marlena government is shameless but the people of Delhi seek Maa Yamunas forgiveness for their corruption," he said. The AAP has accused the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Haryana of releasing untreated industrial wastewater in the Yamuna ahead of the festive season, leading to unprecedented pollution and frothing in the river.

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