NEW DELHI: The war of words over Yamuna waters has intensified with the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress attacking Aam Aadmi Party over Arvind Kejriwal‘s ‘poison in Yamuna’ remark. While Haryana chief minister warned the AAP chief of taking legal action, Congress questioned the authenticity of the statement.
“Arvind Kejriwal should immediately apologize to the people of Haryana and Delhi for his statement, otherwise, we will file a defamation suit against him,” Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini told ANI.
AAP’s INDIA bloc partner Congress slammed Kejriwal’s comment saying that “if a common man alleges the govt of genocide, he will be in jail the very next day,” demanding action against him.
Kejriwal had claimed on Monday that the BJP government in Haryana was “mixing poison” in the water coming from the state.
‘Accuse, blame, conspiracy & divert’: BJP decodes Kejriwal’s strategy
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla slammed Kejriwal of trying to divert attention from real issues by using the “ABCD” tactic– “Accuse, blame, conspiracy and divert.”
“Shoot and scoot, ABCD – Accuse, Blame, Conspiracy and Divert – these are the tactics being used by Arvind Kejriwal… Now, to divert the issue, Arvind Kejriwal is now disrespecting the people of Haryana saying that Haryana has poisoned the water of river Yamuna..,” he said.
Questioning Kejriwal’s claim, Saini asked: “Kejriwal said that the engineers of Delhi Jal Board stopped the water from coming to Delhi because they found out that it was poisoned. I want to ask Arvind Kejriwal on which day this happened. How did the engineers conclude that it was poisoned?”
“He should tell what and how many tonnes of poison was added. How was the water stopped at the border? Was any gate built? Where was it built, how much time did it take and how much did it cost?… Where did the water that they stopped go? How many fish died due to this poisonous water?” he asked.
He further attacked Kejriwal for doing “cheap politics” over the “holy river” Yamuna that is worshipped by many.
“Kejriwal has today insulted the land where he was born. The people of Haryana consider Yamuna as a holy river and worship it,” he said.
‘Kejriwal is lying’
Congress accused the AAP supremo of lying and asked him to present evidence of his claims.
“… Arvind Kejriwal should explain that what kind of poison was there (in water)… He is lying and still allowed to roam free. If a common man alleges the govt of genocide, he will be in jail the very next day,” Congress candidate from New Delhi assembly constituency Sandeep Dikshit said.
“I am surprised that why no action is being taken against him by Haryana Police or Delhi Police. Where is the election commission? I think either there is an internal alliance between both the parties (AAP and BJP) or these institutions aren’t worried about such issues, even if people get panicked…A case was registered against a person who gave a bomb threat to schools in Delhi. Either what Arvind Kejriwal is saying is true – then he should extend evidence and if not there must be a case registered against him..,” he added.
Delhi CM Atishi comes out in support of Kejriwal
Coming out in support of Kejriwal, Atishi said, “When AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and I exposed the BJP’s conspiracy regarding poisonous water, BJP through LG put pressure on the officials of Delhi govt and made CEO Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to write a letter and release it. They wanted to show that there is no issue, but truth is truth.”
“The letter that was written by DJB – it has been clearly written that the water treatment plant of DJB can treat water up to 1 ppm Ammonia only, or by dilution of more water – the range can be increased to 2 to 2.5 ppm. But, as of today, 6.5 ppm of Ammonia is there in the water of Yamuna river. It means 6 times more Ammonia is there in the water of Yamuna that is being released by the BJP’s Haryana govt..,” she added.
Kejriwal had said on Monday that Delhi people were getting dirty drinking water from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, both of which is ruled by the BJP. He had further appreciated the Delhi Jal Board engineers for identifying the “poison” mixed in Yamuna waters coming to the national capita.
“BJP has done such an act that has never been seen before. People of Delhi get drinking water from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh… BJP-led Haryana govt has mixed poison in the Yamuna water coming to Delhi. Thanks to Delhi Jal Board engineers who caught this, they stopped that water at Delhi border and didn’t let it enter Delhi. Had that water entered Delhi and got mixed with drinking water, several people would have died..,” he had said.