Ahead of the Delhi assembly elections, the Yamuna river has become a battleground for an escalating war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi.
As per the reports the BJP-led Haryana government is preparing to file a defamation case against AAP chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after he accused them of “mixing poison” into the Yamuna river water.
The BJP also planning to approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) with a formal complaint against Kejriwal. On the other hand, Kejriwal on Tuesday stood by his statement about “poison in Yamuna” and said he was not afraid of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s threat of legal action.
“Saini ji, don’t play politics over water. Stop trying to scare us with talk of filing a case. I won’t let the people of Delhi suffer. Tell your party to stop this dirty politics,” Kejriwal said.
The controversy erupted after Kejriwal, joined by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, alleged that the Haryana BJP government was polluting the Yamuna, risking a potential health crisis in Delhi.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and several BJP MPs strongly refuted these allegations, calling them baseless. “It is their nature to accuse and run away,” Saini remarked during an event in Chandigarh.
Haryana MP Dharambir Singh also rejected Kejriwal’s claims during a press conference, stating, “Haryana provides Delhi with 10,000 cusecs of drinking water through the Western Yamuna Canal, which is treated before distribution. The 300 cusecs we release into the Yamuna is to ensure the river does not dry up.”
Singh added that Haryana continues to share its water despite Punjab’s refusal to contribute, highlighting that Delhi often returns polluted water to Haryana.
Several Haryana leaders, including MP Kiran Choudhary, argued that the water Haryana provides is safe and tested but becomes polluted as it flows through Delhi. She cited sewage, plastics, and contaminants from Delhi’s water system as major contributors to the pollution.
Haryana minister Anil Vij hit back at Kejriwal, stating, “For 10 years, you have been in power. If Yamuna is dirty, why haven’t you cleaned it? If you claim pollution is coming from Haryana, form an international expert team to check the water quality at Sonipat and Okhla. The truth will come out.”
Vij further accused Kejriwal of deflecting responsibility, adding that Delhi’s failure to clean the river over the years cannot be blamed on neighboring states.
AAP leaders, including Haryana’s Anurag Danda, have doubled down on their allegations. Danda recently visited Panipat, capturing videos of industrial drains releasing waste into the Yamuna. This, he claimed, was proof of Haryana’s role in polluting the river.
In previous disputes, AAP has consistently blamed Haryana for water-related issues. In July 2023, during Delhi’s floods, the AAP government accused Haryana of deliberately releasing excess water from the Hathnikund Barrage to flood the capital. Similarly, in June 2024, then Delhi water minister Atishi alleged a conspiracy by Haryana to deny Delhi its rightful share of Yamuna water, leading her to stage a hunger strike.
The Yamuna water-sharing dispute has a long history, rooted in a 1994 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between five states, including Haryana and Delhi.
The MoU governs water allocation through the Western Yamuna Canal in Haryana and the Eastern Yamuna Canal in Uttar Pradesh. Despite this agreement, political tensions over water shortages and pollution have repeatedly flared.
ECI asks Kejriwal to substantiate allegations
New delhi: The Election Commission of India has asked AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal to provide factual evidence to substantiate his serious allegations that the river Yamuna was poisoned by the neighbouring Haryana state; the nature and extent of the chemical used for the poisoning Yamuna that would have killed the people in large numbers resulting into mass genocide; and that the engineers of Delhi Jal Board have actually detected and prevented it timely, much before it could mix with the waters of Yamuna in Delhi and caused genocide.
Notably, both BJP and Congress have complained to the Election Commission against Kejriwal for making serious false allegations on Monday.