A Haryana court has summoned Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal on February 17 regarding his claim that the state dumped industrial waste in the Yamuna river, thereby poisoning the water. Meanwhile, Kejriwal, who was asked by the Election Commission to submit his reply by 8 pm on Wednesday, told the poll body that the raw water received from the BJP-ruled state in the recent past has been "highly contaminated and extremely poisonous" for human health. He said that there was a shortage of treated water in the national capital.
A Sonipat court issued a notice to Kejriwal in the matter over a complaint filed by an executive engineer of the Rai Water Services Division. "He is directed to appear in-person before this court on the next date of hearing, if he has to say anything in the matter. If he does not appear before this court on the next date of hearing, it is deemed that he has nothing to say in the matter and further proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with law," the order stated.
Meanwhile, Haryana Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Vipul Goel said the state government will file a case against Kejriwal over his “irresponsible statement spreading panic among the people of Delhi and Haryana”. "The Haryana government is going to get a case registered against him before CJM Court in Sonipat under the Disaster Management Act," Goel told reporters.
Kejriwal was also asked to respond by the Election Commission, where he said he made the remarks in context of an “urgent public health crisis” over drinking water quality in the city. The AAP chief, in the 14-page reply, said the statements made by him was his public duty to highlight "severe toxicity and contamination" of raw water received from the BJP-ruled state.
The ammonia level in the raw water received from Haryana was so extreme that the water treatment plants in Delhi were unable to process it down to safe and permissible limits for human consumption, he said.
The AAP chief also shared a video on X of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini drinking Yamuna river water, and claimed that the minister pretended to drink the poisonous water and then spat it back.
"Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini pretended to drink Yamuna water... and then spat the same water back into the Yamuna. When I said that Yamuna water could be dangerous for the lives of Delhiites due to ammonia contamination then they threatened to lodge an FIR against me. They want to make the people of Delhi drink the same poisonous water which they themselves can not drink. I will never let this happen," Kejriwal said in the post. To counter Kejriwal’s claims, CM Saini had earlier in the day shared his video saying he performed achman of the holy Yamuna water without any hesitation or reluctance.
After Kejriwal’s reply to the Election Commission, AAP also issued a statement saying that it is an ‘undisputed fact’ that there is 7 ppm ammonia in Yamuna water. “A Delhi Jal Board CEO letter admits toxicity is 700 percent higher than the permissible limit,” it said.
In his response to the poll body, Arvind Kejriwal argued that raising the issue of clean water as a basic human right cannot be considered an offence. The purpose of the statements he made are rooted in public interest, and highlighted a legitimate civic concern.