New Delhi: Delhi former Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday sought to clarify his allegedly controversial statements regarding Yamuna river water quality. He said that his remarks were intended to draw attention to an “honest civic issue” and not create any communal tension. This clarification came after the Election Commission (EC) asked him to prove his assertion that Haryana was mixing “poison” into the Yamuna and choking Delhi’s water supply.
Kejriwal claimed that he made those remarks because of the “emergency and alarming public health crisis” caused by a decline in drinking water quality in the national capital. He said the capital depends on “highly polluted and poisonous” raw water supplies imported from Haryana.
Kejriwal said, “The level of contamination is so high that the WTPs in Delhi cannot treat the water to its permissible limit. He cautioned that drinking this kind of poisoned water can pose serious health risks , even death.
The AAP chief added that the incriminating inference he drew was that law and order arrangements to be placed under the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board on January 27 revealed an extraordinary rise of ammonia in the water made available from Haryana. According to the report, the letter mentioned that the ammonia levels had shot up to 6.5-7 parts per million (ppm), way above the prescribed limit.
He also cited another part of the letter that said the rise in ammonia was due to the entry of untreated sewage or industrial waste upstream of the Wazirabad Barrage. Stating that his remarks were used to create disharmony between states or break national integration, he contended that they were not made in any such context but were a wake-up call to India about a pressing public health issue.
In his reply to the EC, Kejriwal Kejriwal argued that he had made those statements in the exercise of his constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression. He stated, “It is not only illegal but unconstitutional to make the act of pointing out the failure of the government in ensuring the supply of safe water to the people of Delhi a punishable offence.”
The controversy relates to Kejriwal’s comments during an election rally on January 27, during which he blamed the BJP for “dirty politics” by allegedly poisoning Delhi’s water supply. “There is no greater sin than to deprive others of water. The BJP wants to quench the thirst of the people of Delhi with its dirty politics. He said they are adding poison to the water coming from Haryana.
He also claimed that the water laced with chemicals was so poisonous that purification plants in Delhi could not treat it, threatening the BJP with ‘mass murder’ of the people of the capital.
In response, the EC also sent a notice to Kejriwal asking him to substantiate his allegations with “correct facts” and giving him a deadline of 8 p.m. on Wednesday to respond. In response to the AAP chief’s comments, he claimed he was merely trying to highlight a “genuine and immediate civic issue” and not breach the Model Code of Conduct.
At a time when the issues of water quality and political accountability are gaining traction, comments like Kejriwal’s opened a wider debate about the challenges of ensuring potable water for Delhites.