Ms Bharti is perhaps the first Sangh Parivar leader to go to 10, Janpath on the issue of the Ganga, especially with the plea that it should be declared a national river by law. The one-on-one meeting lasted over 20 minutes.
During the meeting, Ms Bharti expressed her desire to meet the Congress chief once again on this issue, to which the latter responded positively. She said if the government makes any contribution towards saving the Ganga, the credit for it would go to the UPA chairperson.
“I am overwhelmed that Sonia Gandhi has kept the issue of the Ganga separate from politics and has given me time. She read out portions from a book by Jawaharlal Nehru and told me that her family has faith in the Ganga. She assured me that she will talk to the Prime Minister and (Jairam) Ramesh regarding my demands, and also ask them to meet me," Ms Bharti said.
“Four months ago, I was disturbed to see the state of the Ganga river. I had then written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and environment minister Jairam Ramesh. My demand is that the Ganga be declared a national river (by law)," Ms Bharti added.
The BJP leader also demanded that the Ganga Basin Authority meet more frequently to consider ongoing projects and an expert committee be formed to look into checking pollution and cleaning the Ganga. Read the full report here.
Source: Venkatesh Kesari, Age Correspondent, Asian Age, New Delhi.
