In letter to EC, Kejriwal demands criminal case against Haryana CM over ‘poisonous’ Yamuna row

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal, in a letter to the Election Commission, raised serious allegations against Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday. He sent a written response to the Election Commission, demanding that a criminal case be filed against Nayab Singh Saini regarding the ‘poisonous’ Yamuna issue.

Kejriwal claimed that the levels of ammonia contamination in the raw water being supplied to Delhi from Haryana were ‘unprecedented and dangerously’ high. In the letter, he claimed that the ammonia levels started increasing very sharply from 15 Jan onwards (around 3.2 ppm on 15 Jan) and reached 7 ppm a few days later.

The AAP convener stated that CM Atishi contacted the Haryana CM to resolve the crises; however, despite several attempts, the issues remained unresolved.

#WATCH | Yamuna Water Row | AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal says, “Atishi and Bhagwant Mann wrote a letter to the EC raising the issue and asking them to step in. EC did not take any action… Instead, I was served with a notice for raising my voice. I prevented a water… pic.twitter.com/TjmRn2h5fq

— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2025

“The Chief Minister of Delhi called up the Chief Minister of Haryana in the last week of December and requested him to either take steps to reduce ammonia or provide additional water to dilute it. Though CM Haryana assured me that he would take the necessary steps, however, he did not. Subsequently, CM Delhi again called him several times. After a few calls, CM Haryana stopped taking CM Delhi’s calls”, as stated in the letter.

He alleged that a ‘deliberate conspiracy’ was made by the Haryana CM to influence the Delhi assembly election. “There was a deliberate conspiracy on the part of Haryana CM, who happens to be from BJP, to influence Delhi elections by sending highly polluted waters to Delhi. He knew very well that this would create artificial water scarcity in Delhi, whose blame would lie on the AAP government in Delhi. This would have rendered almost half of Delhi without water and would have created huge public misery for almost 10 million people of Delhi who would have gone without water,” he said in the letter.

“If no action is taken against the Haryana government and the BJP leaders involved in corrupt practices it will be amply clear to everyone that the CEC keeps the interest of the ruling party over public interest. Unfortunately, I can’t be expected to be silent on this and tow this line out of fear or expectations of favour. My only concern is the health and safety of the people of Delhi and I will fight for the protection of our democratic principles. Whatever illegal punishment you may wish to impose on me under the instruction of the BJP is a small price to pay for it, and I welcome it with open arms,” he added.

He alleged bias, stating that instead of acting against Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini, ECI is targeting him. “I am also shocked that the CEC did not pass any orders directing Haryana CM to stop polluting Delhi’s waters right before elections. Rather, CEC chose to hound me,” he added in a letter.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission accepted the manner of meeting with Arvind Kejriwal today as a special case, altering its earlier schedule in view of the thick of the campaign period in Delhi and leaving no scope for complaint for any stakeholder, according to the source.

The Commission gave a patient hearing to Arvind Kejriwal to substantiate his statements on the Yamuna poisoning and mass genocide. Arvind Kejriwal, visted the Election Commission on Friday and claimed that if AAP had not protested, one crore Delhi residents would have been deprived of water. He alleged bias, stating that instead of acting against Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini, ECI is targeting him.

“If we had not protested and raised a hue and cry, one crore people of Delhi would have stopped getting water… ECI has sent me a notice asking why no action is taken. I saved Delhi from water crisis and I am being threatened with punishment… Instead of filing an FIR and taking action against Nayab Saini, Election Commission is after me…Neighbouring states of election states can influence elections by stopping water… Money, sarees, shoes and jackets are being openly distributed in Delhi but Election Commission is silent. ECI does not show the courage to take action against BJP today”, he said.

He earlier said “Whatever punishment is given to me, I will accept it. We have not taken time from Election Commission, if we meet them then it is fine, otherwise we will come to the gate and give our answer and water bottle to the three commissioners.”

Kejriwal claimed that the rising ammonia levels in Delhi’s water were part of a political conspiracy aimed at disrupting the city’s water supply. He further stated that the Haryana government’s response was a politically motivated move.

“CM Atishi called Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini to complain about the rising ammonia levels in water. She asked to either reduce the ammonia levels or release extra water to dilute the ammonia levels. He agreed to the demands but did not take action. This happened thrice and after that, he stopped taking Atishi’s calls… Even Bhagwant Mann tried talking to Haryana CM to which he was given assurances but in vain… One by one, Delhi’s water treatment plants started shutting down. Delhi’s Chief Secretary also talked to Haryana Chief Secretary in this matter urging him to take action. Haryana’s Chief Secretary said something very shocking. He said this decision has been taken at the top level and he suggested that Delhi CM talk to Haryana CM. This is when we realised this is a political conspiracy to influence elections… “

“When the Punjab irrigation secretary talked to his counterpart in Haryana, it was confirmed that it was a political conspiracy… What happened after 15 January is shocking. Ammonia levels reached 3.2 ppm and gradually started increasing and reached 7 ppm by 26 January… This is when CM Atishi organised a press conference and informed everyone about it…They thought that they would be able to blame AAP by creating water scarcity in Delhi. Now the ppm has reduced to 2.1 which means that it was well in their control… Our agitation worked..,” he said. (ANI)