Chandigarh (Haryana) [India], January 30 (HBTV): Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday criticized Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal, refuting claims of water scarcity and attributing the issue to failures in Delhi’s water distribution system over the past decade.
'He (Arvind Kejriwal) talks about ammonia. He claims scarcity of water – but there is no scarcity; there is an issue in the distribution system. He has not managed water distribution in 10 years, even though he promised to do so. People are still receiving polluted water,' Saini said.
He accused Kejriwal of making baseless allegations and avoiding accountability. Calling upon the former Delhi Chief Minister to send his chief secretary, Saini stated that he was willing to dispatch his officials to assess the quality of Yamuna water at Sonipat, where it enters the national capital.
'It is his (Arvind Kejriwal) nature and habit to allege and then evade responsibility. There is a saying, 'thooko aur bhago' (spit and run). This is what Kejriwal does. I have proposed that he send his chief secretary, and I will ask my chief secretary to check the quality of water at Sonipat from where the Yamuna enters Delhi,' Saini remarked.
The Haryana Chief Minister urged Kejriwal to focus on governance rather than making accusations. 'He should work instead of making allegations. The people of Delhi have made up their minds, and they will teach him a lesson,' Saini added.
Haryana Minister Shruti Chaudhary also dismissed Kejriwal's claims, calling them 'election gimmicks' and labeling AAP as a 'drama party.'
'He has nothing else. Haryana never fails in its role, and the CM has given a befitting reply today. These are just election gimmicks. This is not Aam Aadmi Party; it is a drama party,' she said.
Another Haryana Minister, Shyam Singh Rana, stated, 'They can send their chief secretary or the chief engineer and test the water being sent to Delhi. Only then should they make any claims.'
Earlier, ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections next week, Kejriwal alleged that the BJP-led Haryana government had 'poisoned' the Yamuna water supplied to Delhi, claiming it could have led to mass casualties.
'BJP's Haryana government has poisoned the water in Yamuna,' Kejriwal claimed during a press conference, alleging that the alertness of the Delhi Jal Board prevented the alleged poisoned water from mixing with drinking water.
'If this water had entered Delhi and mixed with the drinking supply, many people would have died in Delhi. It could have led to mass genocide,' the former Delhi Chief Minister alleged. He further said that the water treatment plants in Delhi were not equipped to treat this level of pollution. 'It has caused water scarcity in one-third of Delhi,' Kejriwal added. (ANI)