ECI asks Kejriwal to substantiate Yamuna ‘poisoning’ claim or face action
Kejriwal claimed during a campaign that Haryana was "poisoning" the Yamuna to cause "genocide" in Delhi, stopped by Delhi Jal Board engineers
New Delhi: The election commission of India (ECI) on Thursday wrote to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, stating that his responses have been “completely silent” in substantiating his claim of Haryana “poisoning” the Yamuna river. The commission has sought “pointed replies” to five questions, warning that failure to comply will lead to an “appropriate decision” without further reference to him.
The commission also said that, prima facie, Kejriwal’s allegations about the poisoning of the Yamuna river was found to be “promoting disharmony and enmity between different groups, and overall public disorder and unrest, even by the most sober interpretation.”
The EC’s letter noted that during a campaign, Kejriwal alleged that Haryana was “poisoning” the Yamuna river to cause “genocide” in Delhi, which was allegedly detected and stopped by Delhi Jal Board engineers. The commission pointed out that instead of clarifying the “factual and legal matrix” of his statement, Kejriwal chose to justify it by referencing the high ammonia content in the river, a matter being addressed separately.
The commission posed five questions, asking: “What kind of poison was mixed by the state government of Haryana in Yamuna? Supporting evidence about the quantity, nature, and manner of detecting the poison, the location where it was detected, which DJB engineers detected it, and how and where.”
The EC also reminded Kejriwal, as a prominent public figure and former chief minister, of the “dire consequences” such statements could have, potentially leaving “permanent scars” between identifiable groups in Haryana and Delhi.
The EC, however, acknowledged that it “agrees with the contention that availability of sufficient and clean water is a governance issue” and emphasised that all concerned governments should work to secure it for everyone. The commission added: “The commission finds no reason for anyone to dispute this noble position,” and stated it would leave the matter to the “competence and good discretion” of the governments and agencies, refraining from intervening during the election period on water-sharing or pollution issues with long-standing and future implications, where Supreme Court and national green tribunal (NGT) directions are involved.
