ECI to Kejriwal on Yamuna 'Poison' Remark: No Factual or Legal Basis with Evidence Provided

This was conveyed in an ECI letter dated January 30, following Kejriwal's reply to the Commission’s inquiry. The ECI had sought a response from Kejriwal after receiving complaints from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sandeep Dixit of the Congress.

On Thursday, India's Election Commission (ECI) expressed dissatisfaction with Arvind Kejriwal's response regarding the Yamuna 'poison' case, stating that "no factual or legal matrix with evidence has been provided in support of this statement."

This was conveyed in an ECI letter dated January 30, following Kejriwal's reply to the Commission’s inquiry. The ECI had sought a response from Kejriwal after receiving complaints from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sandeep Dixit of the Congress.

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The ECI had invited Kejriwal, the former Chief Minister of Delhi, to submit his response via its letter No. 437/ DL-LA/2025-NS-II dated January 28, concerning his statement. The Commission specifically referred to his remarks, also posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, and had asked for a factual and legal basis, along with supporting evidence, by 8:00 PM on January 29, 2025.

“The Commission has received your reply to the complaints via your communication No. Nil, dated January 29, 2025. Upon examination, the Commission finds that your response is entirely silent on your widely circulated campaign statement accusing the Government of Haryana of 'poisoning the Yamuna' with the intent to commit genocide in Delhi, equating it to an act of war between nations. You also claimed that engineers of the Delhi Jal Board detected and stopped the alleged poisonous water at Delhi’s border,” the ECI’s letter states.

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"Needless to say, no factual or legal matrix with supporting evidence has been provided to substantiate your claim. Instead of clarifying the factual and legal basis of your statement, you have sought to justify it by citing high ammonia content in the Yamuna in Delhi," the ECI added.

The ECI emphasized that its letter dated January 28, 2025, acknowledged receiving a joint complaint from the Chief Ministers of Delhi and Punjab, dated January 27 and 28, respectively. This complaint alleged "deliberate acts of water terrorism" by Haryana, citing a sudden and sharp increase in ammonia levels in the Yamuna, rendering the water untreatable. The ECI stated that this matter was being dealt with separately, based on inputs from the Haryana state government.

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"While the Commission agrees that the availability of sufficient and clean water is a governance issue and that all concerned governments should work to ensure this for their people, it finds no reason for anyone to dispute this noble position," the letter further noted.

The ECI clarified that it has left this crucial matter to the "competence and discretion of the respective governments and agencies." It stated that, during the short timeframe of the election period, the Commission would not intervene in long-standing water-sharing or pollution disputes, which have significant historical and future implications. It also pointed out that agreements on water-sharing, as well as directions from the Hon’ble Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal, are already in place to address these issues.

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Read also| Kejriwal Responds to EC Notice Over Yamuna Water Contamination Remarks, Blames Haryana

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