MNS Chief Raj Thackeray Calls Ganga Water 'Dirty', Says He Won't Even 'Touch it'; BJP Fumes

MNS chief Raj Thackeray mocked those who took holy dip at the Sangam during the 45-day Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.

Addressing the party's 19th foundation day, he mimicked devotees taking snan.

"People should break free from superstition...I wouldn't even touch the dirty water of the Ganga, where millions have bathed," he said. He added that he refused to drink water bought from the Maha Kumbh.

"On social media, we see people scrubbing themselves while bathing in the Ganga, and here, Bala Nandgaonkar is offering me that water to drink! Tell me, who would drink that water?" Thackeray mocked the ritual of the holy dip at the Kumbh Mela.

Come Out Of Superstition: Raj Thackeray

Thackeray said he has been hearing that the Ganga will be cleaned since the time of late former PM Rajiv Gandhi.

"The truth is that Ganga has still not been cleaned. Not a single river in the country is clean. The nation has just emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, yet no one seems to care, and people are crowding at the Kumbh Mela to take a dip. Understand the difference between faith and superstition. Step out of blind faith, and start thinking, he said.

"Some time back, we held a meeting of our MNS office-bearers in Mumbai. Some branch officials were absent, and I took their attendance. When I asked for their reasons, many of them cited the Kumbh Mela. I asked them - why commit sins in the first place? And when they returned, I even asked if they had taken a bath," Thackeray added.

Thackeray talked about clean water in rivers abroad.

"When we travel abroad, we see that their rivers are crystal clear. Over there, people do not call rivers their 'mothers,' yet those rivers are clean. Meanwhile, in our country, all polluted water is dumped into the rivers," he added.