Bharadwaj: Adulterated Navratri Food Shows Hindus at Risk

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tore into the BJP’s so-called four-engine government after hundreds of Sanatani Hindus observing Navratri fasts in Delhi fell ill from consuming adulterated kuttu atta (buckwheat flour). AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj declared that “under BJP’s rule, even the sacred food of religious fasts is no longer safe, and today it truly feels like Hindus are in danger,” while MLA Sanjeev Jha visited hospitals to meet the victims and slammed the government’s failure to provide even basic medicines.

AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj took to social media platform X and wrote: “CM Rekha Gupta, once you are done with your dandiya nights, please do take stock of the state of Delhi’s hospitals. The police are yours, the MCD’s health licence department is under you, the food safety department is under you – from top to bottom everything is under BJP.”

In another post, the AAP Delhi unit chief wrote, “Hundreds of people in Delhi have fallen ill after consuming adulterated kuttu flour. Hundreds of patients have been admitted at Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital. Patients have also been reported at Burari Hospital. Just think – even the food considered sacred during Navratri fasts is being adulterated, and the so-called four-engine government is busy playing dandiya.”

Meanwhile, Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha visited Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital in Jahangirpuri, where several patients were admitted after consuming adulterated flour. “Monday was the first day of Navratri fasts. People observing the fast consumed kuttu flour at night and began falling ill. More than 200 people have already reached hospitals and are undergoing treatment. While they are not critically ill and no major tragedy has occurred, the fact that people fell ill from adulterated flour is a matter of serious concern,” he said.

Sanjeev Jha further stated, “Navratri is a sacred nine-day festival. Adulteration in the flour used for fasts is shameful. A large network of adulterators is active in Delhi, but the government remains completely negligent. On Monday, CM Rekha Gupta claimed there was no flooding anywhere in Delhi this season. Yet Jahangirpuri and Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital were waterlogged. The people of Delhi must reflect on the careless government they have chosen. It is one thing that the government did not come to the people’s aid during a crisis, but it is worse that it refuses to even acknowledge that people suffered in floods. The government is ignoring Delhiites’ problems only to pat itself on the back. What could be a bigger display of negligence than this?”

The AAP MLA added, “Now even the sacred food items of fasts are being heavily adulterated. Hundreds of people are falling sick and being rushed to hospitals, while the government is nowhere to be seen. Never before has Delhi witnessed such a situation. Is the government protecting these adulterators? On one hand, the BJP says there is no adulteration, and on the other, it shields the culprits. The people are paying the price for this negligence.”

He continued, “For the past one month, not a single BJP minister has been visible. On the issue of adulterated fasting food items, the government has remained silent. Neither the Chief Minister nor any minister has taken cognisance of the matter so far. Delhiites expect the government to order an investigation and immediately stop this rampant adulteration. It’s not just kuttu flour – even spices and vegetables are being adulterated. Vegetables are being artificially coloured, and poison is being served to people. The BJP government must wake up from its Kumbhakarni slumber and answer what action is being taken against the adulterators.”

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the MCD Ankush Narang also held the BJP accountable. In a post on X, he stated, “Hundreds of people in Delhi have fallen ill after consuming adulterated kuttu flour. The BJP’s four-engine government has allowed poison to enter the plates of devotees on a sacred festival like Navratri. In Jahangirpuri alone, more than 150 people were hospitalized after eating kuttu flour. The question is: how are adulterated items reaching Delhi’s markets, and who is taking responsibility for food safety?”