Delhi polls: Kejriwal dares BJP, Congress leaders to drink Yamuna water | Latest News Delhi

New Delhi

The controversy over the quality of Yamuna water in the Capital continued to rage on, with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday daring Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress leaders to drink water from the Yamuna or apologise to the people of Delhi for claiming it was not harmful to health.

Holding four bottles of water with labels of Union home minister Amit Shah, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, Delhi BJP head Virendra Sachdeva and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal said he is sending bottles filled with Yamuna water and the four of them must drink them in a press conference to prove him (Kejriwal) wrong.

“This is 7ppm (parts per million) ammonia water with chlorine mixed in. The BJP and Congress have joined forces—both are playing with the health and lives of the people of Delhi. Let these four leaders drink this ammonia-mixed water in a press conference. If they do, we will accept that we were wrong. If they have the courage, if they claim to be speaking the truth, let them prove it by drinking this water in front of everyone,” Kejriwal said at a press conference at the AAP headquarters.

In the evening, AAP leaders led by Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh headed to the BJP headquarters with the water bottles, but were stopped by the police. “This is same water which is being supplied to Delhi residents; if it is not toxic, then Amit Shah, Nayab Saini, and Virendra Sachdeva should drink it; Rahul Gandhi, who is supporting them, should also do same,” Sanjay Singh said.

The controversy has been raging since Monday, when Kejriwal alleged that the BJP government in Haryana “mixed poison in the water being sent to Delhi”. Following the comments, senior BJP leaders, including Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hit back at the AAP chief, and the Haryana government also filed a case against Kejriwal in a Sonepat court. They also moved the Election Commission of India (ECI), asking for it to curtail Kejriwal from campaigning for the polls over the alleged model code of conduct violation.

The BJP shrugged off Kejriwal’s comments, questioning whether the AAP drank raw Yamuna water or the supply from treatment plants. “We all drink raw water or purified water from water treatment plants. Then, why this drama about ammonia?” a spokesperson for Delhi BJP said.

The Congress said that Kejriwal’s comments were in the extreme. “The Yamuna water is definitely polluted, but Kejriwal made some serious allegations like genocide. So, the onus is not on anyone else but on him to prove what he said,” New Delhi Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit said.

The AAP, however, has continued to remain defiant, batting away the case filed against Kejriwal and responding to the ECI that the remarks were focused on public health.

Delhi is dependent on the Yamuna from Haryana and the Ganga Canal from Uttar Pradesh for a majority of its drinking water. The water is treated at plants in Delhi and supplied to households for drinking. Kejriwal said that Haryana has failed to address the high ammonia crisis, despite repeated appeals from Delhi chief minister Atishi.

Terming Nayab Singh Saini’s move of taking a sip of the Yamuna water on Wednesday a “PR stunt”, Kejriwal said: “They can do whatever they want. I want to tell these people: You are sending toxic water to the people of Delhi, playing with their health and their lives. High ammonia can cause irreversible damage to young children, yet instead of solving the issue, you are threatening us?”