Get Instant Loan up to ₹10 Lakh!
An FIR was registered against Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday amid continued outrage over his ‘Yamuna poisoning’ allegations. The development came mere hours before Delhi is slated to cast its ballots for the Assembly elections. The AAP had accused the ruling BJP in Haryana of intentionally draining industrial waste into the Yamuna — with Kejriwal alleging last week that the party was trying to kill people by "mixing poison" in the river.
According to reports, the FIR has been registered against the AAP national convener and unknown members of the party. The case was filed at Shahabad Police Station in the Kurukshetra area of Haryana under various sections of BNS. The FIR was filed in connection with his comments on the Yamuna river water and his subsequent allegations against the Haryana government.
The state government had earlier indicated plans to register against the AAP supremo for his “irresponsible” remark. Chief Minister Nayab Saini also took a sip of water from the Yamuna river on towards the end of January to counter the allegations.
“An unfortunate statement by Arvind Kejriwal was given to create fear in the minds of people for his political benefits. Today, I have come here to the banks of River Yamuna and took a sip of water from Yamuna. He said that the BJP Govt of Haryana has poisoned the Yamuna River. He spoke about mass genocide,” Saini told reporters at the time.
The Delhi Jal Board had also issued a clarification last week to counter the “factually incorrect” claims made by Kejriwal. Meanwhile the Election Commission of India had directed Kejriwal to furnish evidence backing his assertion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also waded into the ongoing debate towards the end of January — contending that ‘disgusting allegations’ were being levelled as AAP feared an election defeat.
“A former CM of Delhi has levelled disgusting allegations on people of Haryana. Due to fear of losing, people from 'AAP-da' have got rattled. Are people of Haryana different from those in Delhi? Are relatives of those living in Haryana not residing in Delhi? Can the people of Haryana poison the water their own people drink? The water sent by Haryana is consumed by everyone living in Delhi, which also includes this prime minister,” he had said.
(With inputs from agencies)
Catch all the live action on Elections and get exclusive coverage on Assembly Election Results 2024 with Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.