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Election Commission asks Arvind Kejriwal to furnish proof on Yamuna poisoning claim: ‘Evidentiary support by 8 pm’
The BJP and the Congress today lodged an official complaint against Kejriwal over the remark.
The Election Commission on Tuesday asked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal to furnish evidence on his claim that the BJP-led Haryana government poisoned the Yamuna water supply to Delhi.
In a notice to the AAP chief, the poll panel asked him to furnish "evidentiary support" to his claim by 8 pm on Wednesday.
"The matter is being examined by the Commission in the light of provisions of MCC and relevant provisions of law. Therefore, you are called upon to furnish your response on the complaints (Annexure 1 and 2), especially on the factual and legal matrix along with evidentiary support thereof by 20.00 hours on 29th January, 2025 so as to enable the Commission to examine the matter and take action as appropriate," it said.
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday alleged that the BJP government in Haryana poisoned the water of Yamuna which was being supplied to the national capital. He claimed had the Delhi Jal Board not stopped the water from coming into Delhi, it would have triggered a mass genocide.
The BJP and the Congress today lodged an official complaint against Kejriwal over the remark.
"The Commission also perused the report of Delhi Jal Board which does not mention any poisoning in Yamuna. Consequently, there is no mention in the report that engineers of Delhi Jal Board have stopped the poisoned waters at the Delhi border itself, before it could poison Yamuna. The Commission is also in receipt of a joint letter from Chief Minister Delhi and Chief Minister Punjab alleging deliberate act of water terrorism by this sudden and sharp increase in the Ammonia content in the water being released by Haryana into Yamuna which is alleged to have rendered the water untreatable," the panel's notice said.
The panel asked Arvind Kejriwal to prove the factual foundation behind the allegations.
"As regards the allegations of Poisoning, it is expected that there must be a factual foundation to the allegations especially when the veracity of the statements made by you is contested, then you must be able to back your statements on a factual basis," it added.
Amit Shah attacks Arvind Kejriwal
Union home minister and BJP leader Amit Shah today accused Arvind Kejriwal of falsely alleging that the Haryana government mixed poison in the Yamuna and dared the AAP supremo to make public the DJB report that he cited to level the charge.
"Kejriwal ji, winning and losing are part of the election process. Making an innocent face, you accused the Haryana government of mixing poison (in the Yamuna) and tried to scare the people of Delhi. Politics cannot get dirtier than this," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
"Ask the chief minister (Atishi) as well where the (DJB) report is and what poison was mixed," he added.
