American politician Brandon Gill has once again come into discussion on social media after he made a comment on a video of Chhath Puja celebration in Texas being circulated on social media. The congressman representing Texas’s 26th Congressional District addressed X, claiming he does not want third world religious communities to be included in his community’s public waterways. “I don’t want Third World religious ceremonies taking place on public waterways in my community.” He has written. Gill also tagged an old video of Chhath Puja celebrations in Denton, Texas, which has been circulating widely on the platform in recent times. The original post criticized Indian-Americans for polluting local waterways by ‘pouring milk directly into the lake’ and killing aquatic life. It said, “Protect Texas Water.” Social media users immediately joined the satire and started trolling not only Indian-Americans but also the country and its culture. One user wrote, “Look on Google Earth where river Ganga enters the Bay of Bengal, this is the world’s largest sewer which pollutes the entire ocean, why are these low value people in our country? They contribute nothing and take everything away.” “This is why I don’t want to spend time in India or many parts of the Middle East (where I’ve already been). These people come here and instead of adopting the American lifestyle they bring their dirty habits with them and it’s really disgusting,” said another. “This is not India. Don’t think my two nieces and their husbands will like any part of this just because they live in Denton. You want to celebrate your morality or national heritage, celebrate it in India. This is Texas!” Called one. However, other users were quick to point out the contradiction – noting that Gill’s own wife, Danielle D’Souza, comes from a non-resident Indian background. “I think I see your in-laws in that shot. How hypocritical,” one wrote. “Hey buddy, your wife was probably milking the lake in Louisville over there,” added another. “Brandon, you’re going to upset your in-laws,” one user claimed.One said, “I live on that lake. I’ve seen people vomit and urinate in the lake. It won’t pollute anything.”Videos from the celebration of a Hindu festival in October 2025 have resurfaced on social media platforms amid the popularization of rampant anti-Hindu rhetoric in the United States. This underlines the growing anti-India sentiment in the country. Since the start of Trump’s second term in 2025, there has been a massive rise in cases of attacks ranging from a sharp increase in anti-India posts online to vandalism of symbols associated with the country, given how political policies shape civil society.