E-Paper
BJP asks remove RO systems from his house, says people don’t trust DJB
New Delhi
New Delhi
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Friday dared Delhi chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to stop the use of reverse osmosis (RO) systems in his house and at the Delhi secretariat if he is so convinced about the quality of water supplied by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
The party asked the CM to explain the reason for the alleged high incidence of water-borne diseases reported in the national capital if the water quality is good.
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari along with other MPs -- Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, Vijay Goel, Parvesh Verma and Meenakshi Lekhi— said the people of Delhi are totally dependent on ROs and bottled water for drinking.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, MP from Chandni Chowk, said, “People of Delhi don’t trust the water supplied by DJB. This is why a majority of people are using ROs and bottled water. Why are such high incidents of water-borne diseases reported if the water quality is good? The CM must explain. If he is so convinced about the quality of water, then he should remove ROs from his residence and the Delhi Secretariat.”
The BJP played a short video of Kejriwal’s speech, assuring Delhiites that they will be able to drink water from their taps directly by December 2017.
Accusing AAP of making it an election issue, Tiwari said, “The supply of poisonous water in Delhi is not a political or election issue, this is an issue related with the lives of the citizens.”
Verma and Lekhi said the CM can’t run away from questions as he is the chairman of DJB. “Now he can’t say the Delhi L-G didn’t let him work, as DJB doesn’t come under the L-G. Of the complaints received by DJB, majority are about unclean drinking water. He should explain why his government has failed to address the issue,” said Verma.
Lekhi said, “The CM blames Haryana for supplying dirty water. There are reports that state the contamination level in the river water when it exits Delhi is more than when it enters the city. Who is to be blamed for this?”
The Bureau of Indian Standards report on the quality of drinking water has sparked of a political tussle between AAP and BJP. Tiwari and Goel said AAP is unnecessary politicising the BIS report, instead of fixing the problem.
Referring to one of the persons from whose house the sample was collected, Goel said, “BIS has clarified that two scientists had gone to his house to collect the samples. AAP has forced him to lie about it.”
