Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 | Yamuna poison row: Kejriwal furnishes fresh reply to EC

New Delhi: Sticking to his remarks on “poisoning” water released to Delhi with high level of ammonia, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Friday submitted a fresh response to the Election Commission warning that its chief Rajiv Kumar will be dubbed as one keeping the interests of the BJP over public interest if no action is taken against Haryana government.

In a post on ‘X’, the EC said that it gave a patient hearing to Kejriwal at a very short notice. “The Full Commission, without getting swayed by personal insinuations and offensive strategy being in play, decided to examine the reply in detail and take decision(s) on merit,” it said.

Kejriwal sought to corner the CEC by alleging that he has not taken action on complaints of violations by BJP leaders despite overwhelming evidence of attempting to buy votes and other illegalities.

“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 cannot be expected to be silent on this and tow this line out of fear or expectations of favour,” he said.

Kejriwal's remarks came in his response to the second notice issued by the EC to explain his remarks about poisoning water after prima facie finding that his remarks could create enmity between people and that he should not mix the issue of increasing level of ammonia and his allegation of poisoning water.

Sources said Kejriwal and Delhi and Punjab Chief Ministers Atishi and Bhagwant Mann landed at the EC without an appointment but the poll body met them as a special case to ensure that no scope for complaint is left for any stakeholders.

“The alacrity with which the CEC has acted against me when I was merely acting on an issue of very high public importance and have averted a huge public crisis is baffling. Equally baffling is CEC's refusal to direct Haryana to stop polluting Delhi's waters,” Kejriwal said.

In his six page response, Kejriwal alleged that Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini did not direct state officials to contain the rise of ammonia level despite repeated requests from Atishi. He claimed Haryana Chief Secretary also asked his Delhi counterpart to make Atishi speak to Saini and it indicated that the decision to pollute Yamuna and not to solve the problem was taken at “highest political levels”.

He said the ammonia levels had risen from 3.22 ppm on January 15 to 7 ppm (around January 26) and it was following Atishi's press conference and posts on 'X' that he made comments on the issue.

He said the sequence of events showed that there was a “deliberate conspiracy” on the part of Saini to “influence” Delhi elections by sending “highly polluted” water to the capital, as the Haryana Chief Minister “very well knew that this would create artificial water scarcity”.

Kejriwal said it was “crystal clear” that Saini was at fault but he was “shocked” to see that the CEC did not pass any order.

He also alleged that it is "again shocking" that the CEC maintained "complete silence and inaction" in cases of "blatant violations" by BJP leaders of openly distributing cash and other articles and if continues so, he will end up normalising the corrupt practice.

"Across the world, India is known as the bedrock of democracy. The CEC with its clear act of omission and negligence of corrupt practices by the BJP, looks set to tarnish this image of India globally...Unfortunately, the conduct of the CEC in the current tenure completely eroded people's faith in this institution. The current CEC might go down in the nation's history as an organisation that deeply wounded Indian democracy and has caused irreparable damage to this sacred institution," he said.

Delhi Assembly Election 2025 | The first of two state assembly polls this year sees a three-way contest between AAP, Congress, and BJP in the nation's capital. AAP decided to contest the polls alone, causing rumours of a rift in I.N.D.I.A. BJP, meanwhile, is hoping the liquor excise policy scam and pollution in Delhi will give the saffron party an edge over AAP. Kejriwal, on the other hand, has different plans with his demand for reservations for Delhi Jats. Congress will also be looking to make its presence felt and has not held back from attacking its own alliance partner. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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