AIMIM leader Waris Pathan accused Raj Thackeray of adopting double standards over his remarks on river Ganga
Mumbai: In response to MNS president Raj Thackeray’s comments on the Ganga, AIMIM leader Waris Pathan has accused the BJP government of applying unfair treatment. He claims that if Thackeray had made such a statement, he would have been labeled as “anti-national” and “anti-Hindu” right away.
“They would have labeled me anti-Hindu and anti-national if I had made such a comment. Raj Thackeray said that he would not come into contact with the Kumbh water since it is causing illnesses in people. What steps is the BJP administration now taking to stop him? They won’t take any action. You know what would have happened to me if I had said this,” Pathan remarked.
A dispute broke out when Raj Thackeray, the leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), questioned the Ganga’s cleanliness on Sunday, claiming that “despite calling our rivers’mother,’ we fail to keep them clean.”
On the 19th anniversary of the party’s founding, the MNS chairman spoke to thousands of party members and said that his party leader, Bala Nandgaonkar, had brought holy water from Prayagraj’s Maha Kumbh, but he would not drink it.
Following criticism from opposition leaders of the Uttar Pradesh government over claims of tainted water during the Maha Kumbh, Thackeray made his comments.
Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, put an end to the dispute by stating that the water quality at the Sangam in Prayagraj was suitable for swimming and drinking holy water.
The water quality of the Ganga during the recently finished Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj was deemed suitable for bathing, according to a report presented to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Nonetheless, the CPCB observed notable “variability in data” in water quality tests that were taken from several places on the same day and from the identical locations on various days.
“According to statistical analysis, the water quality during the bathing days of Maha Kumbh 2025 at monitoring locations in River Ganga and River Yamuna in Prayagraj was fit for bathing under Primary Water Quality Criteria,” the report, which was dated February 28 and posted on the NGT’s website on March 7.
