A sharp defence of India's Sanatan cultural heritage — and a pointed rebuke of those who have questioned it — emerged from the BJP's top ranks on Thursday, 12 November 2026, when Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta shared a charged statement by BJP National President Nitin Nabin on X, centering the debate on faith, rivers, and the contested place of religious identity in Indian public life.

What Nitin Nabin said — and what it signals

The quoted statement, shared by CM Gupta, opens with a pointed historical charge: 'Ek samay tha, jab Bharatiya Sanatan paramparaon aur sanskriti par sawaal uthaye jaate the' — 'There was a time when Indian Sanatan traditions and culture were questioned.' Nabin goes further, referencing the public debate over Lord Shri Ram's historical existence as emblematic of that scepticism.

The statement then pivots to rivers. 'What will such people understand of the glory of Ganga Maiya, Yamuna Maiya, and Chhathi Maiya?' Nabin asks. 'For them, these may be merely river water and a pond — but for us, these are matters of faith, worship, and devotion.' The framing is deliberate: faith versus rationalism, the sacred versus the mundane.

Rivers as political and spiritual terrain

The Ganga and Yamuna are not simply rhetorical props in Indian politics — they carry enormous civilisational and legal weight. The Yamuna flows directly through Delhi, making its condition a live political issue in the capital CM Gupta governs. The invocation of Chhathi Maiya connects to the Chhath Puja festival, one of the most widely observed folk traditions across North India and the diaspora, in which devotees stand in river waters to offer prayers to the sun.

To frame Ganga, Yamuna, and Chhathi Maiya in one breath is to invoke not just religion but a layered cultural identity that cuts across caste and region — a deliberately broad coalition signal.

BJP's recurring Sanatan positioning

This statement fits a well-worn groove in BJP political communication. Senior party figures have consistently cast themselves as guardians of Sanatan Dharma — a term encompassing the eternal principles of Hindu tradition — particularly in contrast to what they describe as a rationalist or secular dismissal of those traditions by political opponents.

The reference to questioning of Lord Ram's existence echoes a long-running political flashpoint in India: legal and academic debates over Ram's historicity became intensely charged during the decades-long Ram Janmabhoomi dispute, culminating in the Supreme Court's 2019 verdict and the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in January 2024. For the BJP, that arc — from doubt to shrine — is itself a vindication narrative, and Nabin's words sit squarely within it.

That the statement comes from the party's national president, amplified by Delhi's chief minister, gives it organisational weight beyond a routine cultural post. Watch for whether it precedes any cultural or river-related policy announcement from the Delhi government — or whether it is simply staking ground ahead of a festival or civic moment.