Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday took a veiled dig at former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his government's failure to fulfil its promise of cleaning the Yamuna River, saying that when BJP leader Parvesh Verma made his cut-out take a dip in the river, it fell sick and had to be admitted to Safdarjung Hospital. 

Addressing the inauguration of a Sewage Treatment Plant, Shah said, "The 'AAP-da' government had said that if they come to seek votes for the second time, they will take a dip in the Yamuna. They did not do so. Pravesh Verma made his cut-out take a dip. The cut-out also fell ill and had to be admitted to Safdarjung Hospital. He did not take a dip. The people of Delhi drowned him." Shah further highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to cleaning the Yamuna, asserting that the long-standing promise to clean the river is now on track and the river would be cleaned before the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. 

"Modi ji had promised you that we would complete the work of cleaning the Yamuna before the Lok Sabha elections. A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Modi ji. Officials said that it would require a lot of money. PM Modi said Don't worry about money. The more we eradicate corruption and reduce advertising, the purer the Yamuna will become. Today, the path to purifying the Yamuna, to realising the dream of a clean Yamuna, has been paved," he said. 

The Union Home Minister affirmed that a plan has been developed to purify the Yamuna, not just in Delhi, but in all the states along the Yamuna River's course. He further highlighted that all these states stretching from Yamunotri to Prayagraj, including Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, currently have a BJP government. 

"In seven months, under PM Narendra Modi's leadership, a plan has been developed to clean the Yamuna not only in front of Delhi, but also from where it meets the Ganga, all the way to Prayagraj. And look at the coincidence. By the grace of Yamuna, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, all these states, stretching from Yamunotri to Prayagraj, have formed the BJP government. This means that the path to clean the Yamuna has been cleared by the grace of Mother Yamuna," Shah asserted. He further congratulated the people of Delhi on the next-generation GST reforms, stating that taxes on more than 395 items have been either reduced to zero or capped at five per cent. 

Amit Shah said, "I've come to tell the people of Delhi that this time it's a double Diwali for you...We have reduced GST tax rates. Taxes on more than 395 items have either been reduced to zero or limited to five per cent...Income tax was abolished for incomes up to Rs 12 lakh. When the Manmohan Singh government came to power, everyone with an income of more than 2 lakh rupees was subject to taxation. Modi has increased the limit from 2 lakh rupees to 12 lakh rupees in 10 years. This change has been possible because the people of the country have elected Modi as Prime Minister for the third consecutive time." 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed)

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