New Delhi, 31 January 2025: AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal submitted his response to the Election Commission on Friday, defending his allegations against the Haryana government and asserting that Chief Minister Nayab Saini deliberately allowed the Yamuna to be poisoned.
He maintained that both the Delhi and Punjab Chief Ministers repeatedly raised concerns with Saini over rising ammonia levels in the river, but no action was taken.
In his letter, Kejriwal stated that after detecting highly toxic water flowing into Delhi from Haryana, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi called Saini in the last week of December, urging him to either take immediate steps to reduce ammonia or provide additional water to dilute the contamination.
“Though the Haryana CM assured he would take necessary steps, he did not. The Delhi CM followed up with multiple calls, but after a few attempts, the Haryana CM stopped responding,” Kejriwal wrote.
He alleged that as the crisis worsened, Saini did nothing to address the situation, allowing ammonia levels to continue rising.
According to Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also intervened on Delhi’s behalf, speaking to Saini multiple times about the matter.
“It became evident that the decision to either pollute the Yamuna or refuse to resolve the crisis by providing additional water was being made at the highest political level,” Kejriwal wrote in his letter.
He noted that ammonia levels had sharply increased from 3.2 ppm on January 15 to 7 ppm within days, prompting concerns that the Haryana government was acting with political intent.
“It was then suspected that there was a deliberate attempt by the Haryana CM to influence the Delhi elections by sending highly polluted water,” Kejriwal wrote.
He stated that when the problem remained unresolved and ammonia levels reached an unprecedented 7 ppm, Delhi CM Atishi was forced to hold a press conference on January 27 to inform the public.
Kejriwal further claimed that his own remarks were a continuation of this sequence of events and directly linked to the ammonia crisis.
“The series of events clearly establishes a deliberate conspiracy by the Haryana CM, who is from the BJP, to create an artificial water shortage in Delhi, knowing that the blame would fall on the AAP government,” he wrote.
Citing the severity of the crisis, he demanded a criminal case be filed against Saini.
Additionally, Kejriwal accused Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar of targeting him for raising the issue.
“The speed with which the CEC acted against me, despite my efforts to prevent a major public crisis in Delhi, is baffling. Equally baffling is the CEC’s refusal to direct Haryana to stop polluting Delhi’s water,” he stated in his letter.
Read More: EC Seeks Evidence From Kejriwal on Yamuna Poisoning Claim
