NEW DELHI: With the Election Commission (EC) expressing dissatisfaction with the response of Arvind Kejriwal to its notice over his claim that the Haryana government was “mixing poison” in Yamuna river, the AAP supremo on Thursday accused Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar of getting indulged in “dirty politics” and alleged that he was seeking a post-retirement job.
The EC said that Kejriwal’s statement about the poisoning of Yamuna had prima facie been found to “promote disharmony and enmity between groups”, potentially leading to public disorder and unrest.
The poll panel sought further clarification on several points, seeking a response by 11 am on January 31, 2025, failing which action would be initiated.
At a press meet, Kejriwal threw down a challenge at the poll panel saying he would send three bottles of Yamuna water to Kumar and other commissioners to drink the “high-ammonia” water. He alleged the CEC of acting in favour of the BJP by turning a blind eye to malpractice.
The AAP chief claimed he suspects that he would be arrested in the next two days and history will never forgive Kumar for the damage he has inflicted on democratic system.
“Cash is being openly distributed, but they fail to see it. Every day, blankets are being distributed. But they don’t notice this. We even pointed out whose house is being used to store the money, yet they turn a blind eye,” Kejriwal said.
The EC, in a letter on Thursday, pointed out that while Kejriwal had provided a reply, it failed to address the critical issue of his statement about the alleged poisoning of the Yamuna river.
“The statement, which Kejriwal made during the campaign, equated the act to ‘an act of war between nations’ and claimed that it was timely detected by the engineers of the Delhi Jal Board, who reportedly stopped the poisonous water at the Delhi border,” it said, adding that “no factual or legal evidence had been provided to substantiate the claim” and directed Kejriwal to submit a second, more detailed and pointed reply.
The EC asked Kejriwal to clarify the type of poison allegedly mixed by the Haryana government in Yamuna, the supporting evidence regarding the quantity and nature of the poison, the method and location of its detection, and the role of Delhi Jal Board engineers in preventing the “poisonous” water from entering Delhi.
The EC reiterated that Kejriwal’s initial response, instead of addressing the factual and legal aspects of the statement, merely attempted to justify it based on the high ammonia content in the river.
