NEW DELHI: Concluding day of the Sri Sri Ravishankar ’s controversial World Culture Festival saw top BJP leaders, including party president Amit Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, share stage with bete noire and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal . While top BJP, AAP and other leaders endorsed the much criticised event by turning up in sizeable numbers, Congress party leaders appeared to be conspicuous by their absence.On their part, Jaitley and Shah limited their speeches to heaping words of praise on Ravishankar, while Kejriwal took it a notch above. Having praised the event, he proceeded to make two requests to the spiritual leader. First concerned the volunteers of Ravishankar’s outfit. Kejriwal appreciated the energy of the volunteers of the Art of Living foundation present at the venue and sought them for implementation of Delhi government schemes.Secondly, the Delhi CM made a critical intervention with regards to cleaning up of the Yamuna River by seeking Ravishankar’s help for leading an initiative with the Centre.“To Guruji’s left, the Central government is seated and to the right, Delhi government. If Guruji takes initiative of bringing the Centre and Delhi government together, then under his leadership, Yamuna river can certainly be cleaned up.There are multiple ministries of the Centre which will have to work on this,” explained Kejriwal as the BJP leaders were seated behind him. These comments assume significance in context with widespread criticism of the three daylong event and the Delhi CM’s muted response and support to it despite evidence of large-scale ecological damage to the floodplains of Yamuna river.These comments were made sometime after Jaitley remarked, “After coming here, it feels that the environment here is good. I didn’t face any trouble with traffic either.”Shah, who spoke before Jaitley, limited his comments to the work of Ravishankar and his foundation. Around the time that these political leaders made their speeches, representatives of the AOL also announced that the organisers are extending support to the Swacch Bharat and Swacch Delhi initiatives organised, respectively, by the Centre and Delhi governments.Conscious of the strong criticism against it, one of the organisers conducting the ceremony and introducing the speakers extended an apology to the citizens of the national capital. “We are sorry if Delhi’s citizens faced any inconvenience because of us,” she said. Ravishanker himself would get up from his seat and appeal to the tens of thousands assembled at the floodplains that waste and refuse items ought to be dumped in garbage cans and the place should not be left littered. He emphasised this message multiple times in context with the mounting criticism being made against him and the event for causing damage to the floodplains.