Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday replied to Election Commission on Yamuna water contamination issue and presented facts. The Election Commission on Tuesday sought factual evidence from AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal to substantiate his allegation that neighbouring Haryana is poisoning the Yamuna river, and reminded him of legal provisions that can lead to up to three years’ imprisonment for making “mischievous” statements against national integration and public harmony.
The EC noted that the allegations raised regarding poisoning of Yamuna river with an intention to kill the residents of Delhi and the fact that the same was timely detected by the engineers of Delhi Jal Board before it could reach the waters of Yamuna in Delhi and equating the act of poisoning by a neighbouring government with nuclear and biological war were extremely serious in nature.
Arvind Kejriwal in his letter said that facts prove no violation of any law or any code has been committed. “I beseech and most humbly request Election Commission to intervene on the major issue of availability of safe water and pass appropriate directions to the State of Haryana so that safe quantity of water is made available to the citizens of Delhi. Statements on Yamuna water were made to highlight severe toxicity, contamination of raw water received from Haryana,” he added.
“The root cause of this water contamination, as identified by DJB’s letter, is the indiscriminate discharge of untreated domestic and industrial waste into the Yamuna River upstream. The systemic failure in controlling this pollution has resulted in a public health crisis of unprecedented scale. The urgent cessation of these polluting activities is an absolute necessity, and the upper riparian authorities bear the primary responsibility to ensure that Delhi’s water supply remains uncontaminated and safe,” he added.
