The Haryana government will file a case against former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his remarks alleging the BJP government in Haryana has "poisoned" the Yamuna water, state minister Vipul Goyal said on Wednesday.
Kejriwal has spread panic among the people of Haryana and Delhi. Arvind Kejriwal has given an irresponsible statement...There is no truth in these allegations. The Haryana government will not spare him," Mr Goyal said.
The state government has sent the complaint and a case will be filed in the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court (CJM) in Sonipat under sections of Disaster Management, officials said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief on Monday made an explosive claim saying that the BJP government in Haryana mixes "poison" in the Yamuna water it supplies to Delhi. The reference was to the high levels of ammonia - over 700 times the permissible limit.
The people of Delhi get drinking water from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh... but the Haryana government has mixed poison in the water coming to Delhi from the Yamuna and sent it here...it is only due to the vigilance of our Delhi Jal Board engineers that this water was stopped," Mr Kejriwal had said.
This charge was picked up and repeated by other AAP leaders, including Chief Minister Atishi, who slammed the BJP for "water terrorism" and wrote to the Election Commission and Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
According to the Election Commission, Mr Kejriwal's claims are a "serious allegation" and could create between states.
The electors tend to believe whatever is being said in public by their leaders and in that sense, the statement, if not true, affect the campaign discourse. If true, this also has serious ramifications of creating enmity between regional groups, residents of neighbouring states, threat of law-and-order situation due to actual or perceived shortage of non-availability of water," the Commission said.
The Delhi Jal Board, which Mr Kejriwal said stopped the alleged "poisonous" water coming to the national capital, rubbished the AAP leader's claim. "These statements are factually incorrect, without any basis and misleading," Delhi Jal Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shilpa Shinde said in a letter to the Chief Secretary.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday joined the 'Yamuna water war' and slammed Arvind Kejriwal's "disgusting" charge.
Stating that Haryana will "never forget the insinuations", Mr Modi said that declaring the fear of defeat in next week's assembly election had made the AAP "unhinged".
