Give proof of ‘Haryana poisoning Yamuna’ claim: EC to Arvind Kejriwal

“The electors tend to believe whatever is being said in public by their leaders and in that sense the statements, if not true, affect the campaign discourse, thereby vitiating the purity of elections and erode the trust of the voters…,” the EC wrote to Kejriwal.

It added that Kejriwal’s allegation that there was an attempt to poison Delhi’s drinking water, and equating it with nuclear and biological warfare was extremely serious and unprecedented.

The EC said that it expected a leader of Kejriwal’s “vast administrative experience” to have the evidence to substantiate the allegation. The poll body maintained that it had seen the Delhi Jal Board’s (DJB) report, which does not mention Yamuna poisoning.

Atishi, meanwhile, visited the EC on Tuesday and wrote a second letter to the poll body, reiterating her allegations that the Haryana government was deliberately contaminating the Yamuna river with ammonia. She cited a letter from Shilpa Shinde, the DJB CEO, which stated that the ammonia levels in the river had exceeded the treatable limit of 1 part per million (ppm).

“…Delhi’s water treatment plants can treat ammonia till 1-2 ppm. But over the past four days, the ammonia concentration has reached 7 ppm, which means it is poisonous water. We informed them if in this manner the toxic water continues to be released by the Haryana government then several water treatment plants will completely shut down and 30% of Delhi will not receive water,” Atishi said in her letter.

“Despite knowing the toxic effects of releasing ammonia in raw water supply, the note of the Delhi Jal Board CEO leaves no doubt that it is due to the indiscriminate and deliberate dumping of untreated sewage and industrial waste from Haryana that is causing the present water supply crisis in Delhi. This is not an act of negligence; it is an act of water terrorism to deliberately impact the conduct of free and fair elections in Delhi,” she added.

However, in a letter to the Chief Secretary, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, Shinde had on Monday responded to Atishi’s “false statements”, saying they could “lead to fear-mongering among city residents and also adversely impact relations with the upper riparian state of Haryana”. Shinde had also pointed out that like every year, ammonia in Yamuna had started increasing from October.

After her visit to the EC on Tuesday, Atishi told mediapersons, “We have suggested to the EC to deploy a joint team with engineers from Haryana and Delhi governments as well as representatives from the Commission, so that at every point from where Haryana is releasing water… which is entering Delhi in Wazirabad and Palla, we will measure ammonia concentration.”

On Monday, too, Atishi, along with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, had in a joint letter to the EC, accused the BJP of trying to sabotage the Capital’s water supply and influence the elections.

Noting that Atishi and Mann’s Monday complaint was being dealt with separately, the EC said it had asked for a report on the ammonia levels from the Haryana government. Sources said the EC is yet to consider the response of the Haryana government that it received on Tuesday.

A delegation of BJP leaders, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Environ-ment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini visited EC on Tuesday evening seeking action against Kejriwal. New Delhi seat candidate of Congress, Sandeep Dikshit, also filed a complaint against Kejriwal and Atishi.

Hitting out at AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Saini called it “deceitful politics” and said he should apologise immediately to the people of Haryana and Delhi.

Yadav wrote in a post on X: “Arvind Kejriwal has resorted to spreading poison in Delhi’s politics. His statement reflects his frustration over AAP’s unquestionable defeat in the Delhi elections. The BJP demands that the Election Commission take strict action against Arvind Kejriwal for attempting to spread fear and anarchy among the people of Delhi.”