New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) has again written to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, seeking a specific response on his Yamuna River poisoning charges against Haryana government.
Stating that his previous response has no specific evidence regarding the “poisoning” allegations, the poll body on Thursday set a deadline of 11 am on Friday for Kejriwal to submit the required details to support his claim, “without mixing it with an ongoing, long-standing, legally governed issue of increased levels of Ammonia.”
The ECI has requested Kejriwal to specify the type, quantity, and method of poisoning, as well as the role of Delhi Jal Board engineers in detecting the contamination.
Here are the five questions:
1. What kind of poison was mixed by the State Government of Haryana in the Yamuna River;
2. The supporting evidence about quantity, nature and manner of detecting the poison which could have caused genocide;
3. The location where the poison was detected;
4. Which engineers of Delhi Jal Board detected it, and how and where;
5. What methodology did those engineers employ in stopping poisonous water from entering the NCT of Delhi?
The EC further stated that his allegation that the BJP-ruled Haryana government had poisoned Delhi’s water supply from the Yamuna River was prima facie “promoting disharmony and enmity between different groups”.
Responding to the directive, Kejriwal accused Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar of “destroying” the credibility of the Election Commission of India by indulging in politics over the issue. “I want to respectfully tell the ECI that while the open distribution of money in Delhi goes unnoticed, they are indulging in politics. Why? Because Rajeev Kumar is seeking a post-retirement job. I want to remind him — history will never forgive him. No one has damaged the Election Commission the way Rajiv Kumar has done. If he wants, he can contest elections from any of the Delhi assembly seats,” he told reporters.
The former Delhi CM said that he would not allow Delhi residents to consume contaminated water. “I will not let the people of Delhi drink poisonous water till I am alive. I know they’ll imprison me in two days. Let them. I’m not afraid. The country has never witnessed elections like this before.,” he said.
Kejriwal further stated that he would send three bottles (containing 7 PPM ammonia-contaminated water with chlorine mixed into it) to the Election Commission as well to Rajiv Kumar. “Let the three Election Commissioners consume these in a press conference, we will admit our mistake,” he asserted.
Notably, DJB had issued a denial of these claims, call them “false, misleading and factually incorrect”.
