Jaya Bachchan, a Samajwadi Party loyalist Rajya Sabha member for over a decade and a half, has once again demonstrated that party allegiance often trumps common sense. Her latest act? Crying foul over an alleged “contamination” of the sacred waters at the Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela. Now, while political grandstanding is nothing new, claiming that the waters are poisoned—and that the government is tossing stampede victims back into the river—takes the cake for absurdity.
Let’s talk basics. When nearly 25-30 crore devotees take a dip in a flowing river, does the water get a little murky? Of course. But here’s the thing: it’s called a river because it flows. It doesn’t sit stagnant, waiting for politicians to diagnose it with imaginary diseases. The Ganges and Yamuna, besides Saraswati have been carrying away impurities for millennia, and no amount of Samajwadi-induced paranoia can change that.
Now, Jaya’s attempt to link this non-issue to the government’s Jal Jeevan Mission—an initiative to bring clean tap water to the remotest villages—is truly something. Does she genuinely believe that Kumbh bathers were expecting Bisleri from the Ganges? The sheer ridiculousness of equating a religious dip with household drinking water supply is the kind of mental gymnastics that deserves a standing ovation.
And then, of course, there’s the Samajwadi Party’s juvenile stunt of boycotting the Budget speech. If frustration had a face, it would be SP’s after their humiliating defeat in the recent assembly elections. Out of nine seats, they managed a grand total of two. Meanwhile, the BJP, which had been licking its wounds from the Lok Sabha setback, bounced back with seven. Akhilesh Yadav, despite his half-hearted attempt to criticize the Kumbh arrangements, couldn’t resist taking a dip himself—because, well, even political opportunism has limits. When an event happens once in 144 years, you don’t let party loyalty get in the way of a good Instagram moment.
To the Yogi Adityanath government’s credit, they pulled off near “fool-proof” arrangements to accommodate a record 40+ crore devotees. Sure, an overzealous crowd broke through barricades, leading to a tragic stampede, but to twist this into a tale of government negligence is just dishonest. A judicial inquiry is already in place, and security has been further tightened to prevent a repeat. But why let facts get in the way of a good headline?
And then we have Jaya Bachchan, with her ‘holier-than-thou’ pronouncements, demanding that the media “report the truth”—as if they need her wisdom to do their job. If anything is contaminated, it’s the mindset of someone who blindly toes the party line while conveniently ignoring her own family’s turmoil. When headlines are buzzing with news of her daughter-in-law, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, reportedly walking out of the Bachchan household, maybe Jaya should focus on managing domestic affairs rather than playing the self-appointed custodian of public discourse.
What’s worse, her uncharacteristic outbursts seem to be doing more harm to Amitabh Bachchan’s towering legacy than to the government she so desperately wants to malign. The man remains India’s most beloved superstar, despite his wife’s best efforts at making a spectacle of herself. Let’s hope some wisdom prevails, and she stops tarnishing the dignity of the Bachchan name while there’s still some grace left to save.
