Outgoing Delhi Chief Minister Atishi was reportedly told by Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena on Sunday that she lost because of the "curse of Yamuna Maa" when she visited Raj Bhawan to submit her resignation papers.
Sources from Raj Bhawan said that Saxena also reminded Atishi that he had previously warned her predecessor and former CM Arvind Kejriwal about the "curse of Yamuna" after the Supreme Court stopped a project to clean the river.
As per the Times of India report quoting sources, Atishi did not respond to these comments. When asked about the conversation, LG's secretariat also refused to comment.
The reference to the "curse" is linked to a dispute between Saxena and Kejriwal that started two years ago over the cleaning of the Yamuna River. In January 2023, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) set up a high-level committee under the LG to oversee the river's rejuvenation. Kejriwal supported the committee, but the Delhi government later challenged the NGT’s decision in the Supreme Court.
Senior lawyer A M Singhvi had argued that a domain expert should lead the panel instead of the Delhi LG. The Supreme Court has kept a stay on the committee's work for over two years.
Saxena is said to have warned Kejriwal after the court ruling that he would face the "curse of Yamuna" for challenging the river’s cleanup efforts.
The Delhi government’s change of stance in the Supreme Court was seen as an attempt to avoid giving credit to the LG for the project.
Arvind Kejriwal had promised to clean the Yamuna within five years after becoming Delhi CM for the first time in 2015 but had failed to take significant action. This became a key issue during the election campaign, as the BJP mocked the former CM for not fulfilling his promise.
The issue further came to the fore during the Chhath festival, where large numbers of people from Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh visit the banks of the Yamuna river to worship. Post-poll analysis showed that many voters from these regions switched their support from AAP to the BJP.
Kejriwal tried to blame the Haryana government for "polluting" the river, which led to criticism from both the neighbouring state and the BJP.
After the election results on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised AAP for not respecting the people’s beliefs, particularly during Chhath Puja, where devotees offer prayers in the water. He vowed to clean and beautify the Yamuna and ended his speech by chanting "Yamuna Maiya Ki Jai."
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