A day after BJP leader and North-East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari took a dip in the Yamuna to prove that its completely clean, toxic foam was seen enveloping the river in the the national capital. Ahead of Chhath Puja, Tiwari on Thursday took a bath in the Yamuna along the stretch in North East Delhi’s Sonia Vihar.VIDEO | Delhi: Toxic foam seen in Yamuna River. Visuals from Kalindi Kunj area.#DelhiNews #YamunaRiver(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/d8jp61yd2p) https://t.co/YsSzVD70i7— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 30, 2026He said, “How can we not appreciate the work that has been done here?… There might be crocodile in water here but crocodiles come only in clean water…I am giving just a message today. I am not a person who is doing this to shame Arvind Kejriwal. Our goal is to give a clean Yamuna to the people of Delhi. I am overjoyed that in 1.5 years, with the blessings of PM Narendra Modi and under the leadership of [Chief Minister] Rekha Gupta, we made this possible.”Tiwari said people could once again celebrate Chhath Puja in the river. He also performed “aachman“, or ritualistic sipping of water, sang a folk song, and invited devotees to offer prayers at the Yamuna. Tiwari cited the presence of migratory birds at some locations as “proof” of improved conditions, arguing that they would not have arrived if the water was unclean.केजरीवाल जी और राहुल गांधी जी, यह रील नहीं, हकीकत है।यह दिल्ली की ही यमुना जी हैं। आज मैंने यहाँ स्नान भी किया और आचमन भी किया।केजरीवाल जी राहुल गांधी जी आप कब आ रहे हो डुबकी लगाने?@ArvindKejriwal @RahulGandhi https://t.co/cjrvQNUCqN— Manoj Tiwari (@ManojTiwariMP) October 29, 2026He said that half the Yamuna had been cleaned in the one-and-a-half years since the BJP came to power, adding that the remaining work would be finished over the next three years.The Delhi BJP said its government had accomplished in two years what Congress and AAP had failed to achieve in 27 years. It also challenged former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to take a dip.Tiwari’s BJP colleague and Union minister Kiren Rijiju backed his claim of a clean Yamuna. Rijiju, who previously shared videos of him swimming in the rivers of Arunachal Pradesh, challenged him to a swimming contest. “Manoj ji, don’t you think that in Yamuna ji‘s much cleaner water, there could be a swimming competition between the two of us,” he posted on X.The remarks followed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s launch of 43 projects worth Rs 8,941 crore aimed at cleaning the Yamuna. Shah pledged that the BJP government would clean the river’s Delhi stretch by May 2029.However, visuals of the river from the Kalindi Kunj area in Delhi showed a thick layer of foam over the river. On Friday morning, the blanket of foam was seen floating on the river along the banks. The foam makes the river unfit for the dip and rituals on Chhath.AAP questions location of Tiwari’s dipAAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj, however, rejected the BJP’s claims, saying the 26-km stretch between Palla and Wazirabad had long been relatively clean.Story continues below this adIn a post on X, he said Delhi Pollution Control Committee reports showed that this stretch had been cleaner during AAP’s tenure.BJP ThugsManoj Tiwari is doing what BJP can do best – playing Fraud with people26 km stretch of Yamuna from Palla to Wazirabad via bakhtawarpur, Burari, Jagatpur, Sonia vihar, has always be cleaner.Yamuna gets majorly polluted at Signature bridge when Najafgarh drain enters Yamuna.— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) October 29, 2026Bharadwaj challenged Tiwari and Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma to drink water at Kalindi Kunj ghat near the Okhla barrage. He alleged that they had avoided the same challenge last year.The Yamuna becomes increasingly polluted as it flows downstream through Delhi. The 22-km stretch between Wazirabad and Okhla is considered heavily polluted and has been the focus of several efforts to restore the river.Water minister says complete cleanup will take timeThe Yamuna runs for approximately 52 km through Delhi. Parvesh Verma had earlier said that cleaning the river completely would take around two-and-a-half to three years, stressing that the government had never claimed the entire river was already clean.According to the minister, cleaning of the upstream stretch between Palla and Wazirabad had been completed, while work continued between Wazirabad and Kalindi Kunj.