Delhi, Punjab CMs meet EC, accuse BJP-led Haryana govt of contamination
NEW DELHI, Jan 28: A day after accusing BJP-governed Haryana of mixing “poison” in the Yamuna river, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said he was not afraid of legal action and asserted he would not let people die in Delhi because of the “dirty, poisonous water”.
Kejriwal claimed in a press conference that the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO, in a letter on Monday, confirmed that a “poison” called ammonia had been mixed with the water supplied from the neighbouring state.
Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini has refuted Kejriwal’s charge and threatened to file a defamation suit against him if he did not apologise.
Hitting back at Saini, the AAP supremo said the Haryana chief minister should not play politics on the issue. “It is sinful, you will face the curse of the people.” “They are threatening to file a case against me. They sent me to jail, will they hang me now?” he asked.
The former chief minister asserted that he would not let the people of Delhi drink the “poisonous water” and die.
The BJP should refrain from its “dirty politics”, he demanded and urged the Haryana chief minister to release clean water in the Yamuna.
DJB CEO Shilpa Shinde had on Monday refuted Kejriwal’s allegation in a letter to Delhi Chief Secretary Dharmendra, calling the claim “factually incorrect, without basis, and misleading”.
She had clarified that the DJB regularly monitored water quality and accordingly adjusted the treatment process.
ATISHI, MANN MEET EC
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and her Punjab counterpart, Bhagwant Mann, met Election Commission (EC) officials on Tuesday, alleging that the BJP-led Haryana government is deliberately releasing alarming levels of ammonia into the Yamuna river, endangering Delhi’s water supply.Following the meeting, Atishi told a press conference, “We presented our concerns to the chief election commissioner and others.
The ammonia levels in the Yamuna have risen to 7 ppm (parts per million), which exceeds the filtration capacity of Delhi’s water treatment plants The EC has told us that it will listen to Haryana’s version before taking a decision that benefits the people of Delhi. We trust the EC for free-and-fair elections.” Mann called for immediate action, saying, “We have demanded additional water from the Munak canal to compensate for the toxic inflow into the Yamuna. The EC will also review last year’s ammonia-level data. We are confident that it will rule in Delhi’s favour.”
AMIT SHAH SLAMS ARVIND KEJRIWAL
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday 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.
Addressing a public meeting in the Kalakaji assembly constituency, he also dared Kejriwal to tell the people of Delhi the name of the poison that he claimed was mixed in the Yamuna.
Noting the AAP chief had also claimed that he saved the people of Delhi by stopping the “poisonous” Yamuna water from entering Delhi, Shah asked him to show the official order issued in this regard.
“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 charged. (PTI)
EC asks Kejriwal to substantiate claims of alleged poisoning
NEW DELHI, Jan 28: The Election Commission on Tuesday sought factual evidence from AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal to substantiate his allegation that neighbouring Haryana is poisoning the Yamuna river.
As it reminded him of legal provisions that can lead to up to three years’ imprisonment for “mischievous” statements against national integration and public harmony.
In a letter to Kejriwal, the Election Commission (EC) sought by 8 pm on Wednesday the nature and extent of the chemicals used for “poisoning” the Yamuna which could have kill people in large numbers, as claimed by the AAP chief.
EC also asked Kejriwal to share details of his claim that engineers of Delhi Jal Board had actually detected and prevented it on time. A charge denied by DJB CEO.
Both the BJP and Congress had complained to the poll panel against Kejriwal for levelling allegations of poisoning of Yamuna river.
The EC is also awaiting a factual report from the Haryana government on the issue. (PTI)