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Senior Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Sunday hit out at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray over latter's "not even one river is clean" remarks, saying that he should understand that Ganga was synonymous to "life, faith and believe" while Kumbh was "Sanatani culture".
He said that remarks on such things "hurt our feelings". "Ganga is the name of life, faith and belief, and Kumbh is our Sanatani tradition, so such things hurt our feelings. He (Raj Thackeray) remains in contact with the BJP, but still, he does not understand this?" Rawat remarked. The Congress leader said that efforts to clean the Ganga have not been pursued with "seriousness" after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's tenure. Emphasising the need to plan for the future, Rawat said that not enough efforts were being made to clean rivers, including Ganga and Yamuna, given the level of waste in these rivers. "The efforts that were made during the time of Rajiv Gandhi are not being made again with the same seriousness. Considering the level of dirt in Ganga and Yamuna, we are not making enough efforts (to clean the rivers). We should establish treatment plants today, keeping in mind the waste that will remain 10 years from now," he said. "Since Rajiv Gandhi, there have been no serious efforts to clean the Ganga and other rivers including Yamuna at the national level. If we do not make it a part of our life and behaviour, this danger will keep increasing," he added. This comes after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday raised questions about the cleanliness of the River Ganga and said that "despite calling our rivers 'mother,' we fail to keep them clean." He emphasised the importance of keeping the state's rivers clean and lamented the fact that none of the country's rivers were clean. He said that "faith should have some meaning." Thackeray said that he had been hearing that the Ganga would be cleaned since the time of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. "Shraddhe-la pan arth ahe ka nahi? (Faith should have some meaning.) In foreign countries, the rivers are kept clean, and they don't call them mother-father. I have been hearing since Rajiv Gandhi's time that the Ganga will be cleaned. People should come out of superstitions," the MNS chief said while addressing the 19th foundation day of his party. (ANI)
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