Arvind Kejriwal highlighted a statement from the Delhi Jal Board, which states that ammonia levels in the river have reached such high levels that water purifying plants cannot operate at full capacity.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has faced criticism for his pre-election assertion that Haryana is poisoning the Yamuna, responded to the Election Commission on Wednesday with data on pollution in the river that flows through the heart of Delhi.
In a 14-page letter, Mr Kejriwal referenced the Delhi Jal Board, which claims that ammonia levels in the river have reached levels that prevent water purifying plants from operating at full capacity.
“The verifiable fact remains that Delhi, as a lower riparian state, depends on raw water supply from Haryana, an upper riparian state, for potable water,” according to the letter. “That Haryana supplies raw water to Delhi, which is then used for human consumption. The raw water supplied from Haryana recently is highly polluted and exceedingly hazardous to human health.”
Days before the Delhi assembly election, Mr Kejriwal alleged that the BJP was “mixing poison” into the city’s water supply in an attempt to “create chaos… hoping the blame will fall” on his party’s administration.
“The people of Delhi get drinking water from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh… but the Haryana government has mixed poison in the water coming to Delhi from the Yamuna and sent it here… it is only due to the vigilance of our Delhi Jal Board engineers that this water was stopped,” he’d said.
Mr Kejriwal’s allegation drew criticism from both the BJP and the Election Commission, which demanded that he provide evidence to back up his claim and warned that such comments, which can cause rifts amongst people and a breach of peace, are criminal offenses.
However, Mr Kejriwal stated in his letter that “facts prove no violation of any law or code has been committed”.
“I beseech and most humbly request Election Commission to intervene on the major issue of availability of safe water and pass appropriate directions to the State of Haryana so that safe quantity of water is made available to the citizens of Delhi,” according to him.
The BJP and Congress have questioned Mr Kejriwal’s charges about poisoning the Yamuna. While the BJP accused him of lying, Congressman Rahul Gandhi stated on Wednesday, “Five years ago, Arvind Kejriwal announced that he would take a bath in the Yamuna River and drink its water. It’s been five years and Kejriwal ji hasn’t tasted Yamuna water.”
Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini posted a 57-second video in which he can be seen splashing water and taking a sip on the Yamuna River bank.
“I drank water from the sacred Yamuna near the Haryana border. (Delhi Chief Minister) Atishiji did not arrive. She must be thinking up a fresh lie, because lies do not have legs. That is why the lies of AAP-da (the BJP’s new derogatory term for the AAP) are ineffective,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
