NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday slammed Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal over his ‘poison in Yamuna’ comment and termed the allegations “disgusting”. Addressing a rally in Delhi, he said that it was absurd to think that Haryana BJP was mixing poison into the water that prime minister drinks.
“A former CM of Delhi has levelled disgusting allegations on people of Haryana. Due to fear of losing, people from ‘AAP-da’ have got rattled. Are people of Haryana different from those in Delhi? Are relatives of those living in Haryana not residing in Delhi? Can the people of Haryana poison the water their own people drink? The water sent by Haryana is consumed by everyone living in Delhi, which also includes this prime minister..,” he said.
“People of ‘aapda’ say that people of Haryana mix poison in water sent to Delhi. This is not just an insult to Haryana but to all Indians. Ours is a country where providing drinking water is considered a good deed…Such fear of losing that they are saying anything. I am sure Delhi will teach a lesson to people who say such things. in aapda walon ki llutiya Yamuna mein hi doobegi..,” he added.
He further accused the Delhi government of handing over the water department to “water mafia”.
“AAP-da has handed Delhi over to the water mafia. They sought votes during three elections, promising to clean the Yamuna. However, they have since reneged on their promise, exposing their lack of honesty and integrity,” he said.
The war of words over Yamuna erupted after Kejriwal accused the BJP government in Haryana of mixing “poison” in Yamuna and sending to Delhi.
Following this, the Delhi Jal Board had called the comment “misleading” and said that during winters, ammonia levels in the Yamuna rise naturally due to reduced water flow and the mixing of untreated sewage or industrial waste upstream.
Meanwhile, Delhi chief minister Atishi on Wednesday responded to the lieutenant governor VK Saxena, accusing him of “failing to address the pressing issue of dangerously high ammonia levels in Delhi’s water” and prioritising directives from “political masters”. This came after Saxena had criticised Kejriwal comment saying that such comments posed a threat to national security.