Did not violate any laws: Kejriwal responds to EC on Yamuna water row

Arvind Kejriwal responds to Election Commission notice, blames Yamuna water issue on untreated waste discharge, denies law violation.

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday (January 29, 2025) replied to the Election Commission of India’s notice over his claims regarding Yamuna water, blaming the issue on indiscriminate discharge of untreated waste into the river upstream, and denying he violated any laws.

On January 27, Mr. Kejriwal alleged that the BJP government in Haryana was “mixing poison” in the Yamuna water reaching Delhi. Backing him on Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi had cited a letter by the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), which stated that while water plants in the capital are designed to treat 1 parts per million (ppm) of ammonia, levels in Yamuna water were well above permissible limits. The DJB too, however, later refuted Mr. Kejriwal’s allegations as “factually incorrect” and “without any basis and misleading”, as “ammonia in river Yamuna increases” during the winter months between October and February.

On Tuesday, the EC had asked Mr. Kejriwal to provide factual evidence to substantiate his allegations.

In his reply, Mr. Kejriwal, citing the DJB CEO’s communication, said: “The root cause of this water contamination, as identified by DJB’s [CEO’s] letter, is the indiscriminate discharge of untreated domestic and Industrial waste into the Yamuna River upstream. The systemic failure in controlling this pollution has resulted in a public health crisis of unprecedented scale. The urgent cessation of these polluting activities is an absolute necessity, and the upper riparian authorities bear the primary responsibility to ensure that Delhi’s water supply remains uncontaminated and safe.”

His statement did not violate Sections 196, 197 and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 123(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, he said, adding there was no breach of Model Code of Conduct (MCC). His statement was “fully protected under the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and expression, and no offence or any violation of Code of Conduct was committed,” Mr. Kejriwal’s letter read.

Meanwhile, Ms. Atishi said in a letter to Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena that the latter had bowed to political interest.

“Arvind Kejriwal raised the issue that the water in the Yamuna has a highly poisonous level of ammonia. The letter from the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board outrightly confirms this. Evidently, under your pressure, an officer has been forced to attempt a defense of this poisonous water supply. Even your letter acknowledges that the current ammonia level in the water is 7.2 ppm—a figure that is 700% above the permissible limit. At this critical juncture, you had two choices: to prioritize public interest or to bow to political interest. Unfortunately, you have chosen the latter,” the letter dated January 29 read.