Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday accused Arvind Kejriwal of falsely alleging that the Haryana government mixed poison in the Yamuna and dared the AAP supremo to make public the DJB report that he cited to level the charge on the BJP-ruled state.
In response, the AAP said the Delhi Jal Board "confirmed" that charges levelled by Kejriwal are true, and challenged the BJP to get the ammonia level in the river checked by a joint team of engineers from Haryana and Delhi with an Election Commission oversight.
Addressing a public meeting in the Kalkaji constituency, Mr Shah also dared Kejriwal to tell the people of Delhi the name of the poison that he claimed was mixed in the river.
According to Mr Kejriwal he saved the people of Delhi by stopping the "poisonous" Yamuna water from entering Delhi, but he must show the official order issued in this regard, the home minister said.
"Kejriwal ji, winning and losing are part of the election process. Making an innocent face, you accused the Haryana government of mixing poison (in the Yamuna) and tried to scare the people of Delhi. Politics cannot get dirtier than this," he charged.
"Ask the chief minister (Atishi) as well where the (DJB) report is and what poison was mixed," he added.
The AAP had on Monday accused the ruling BJP in Haryana of "intentionally" draining industrial waste into the Yamuna, with Kejriwal alleging it was trying to kill people by mixing "poison" in the river.
Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO Shilpa Shinde had on Monday refuted Mr Kejriwal's allegation in a letter to the chief secretary, calling the claim "factually incorrect, without basis, and misleading".
Ms Shinde had also said ammonia levels in the Yamuna naturally increased during winters due to reduced flow and the mixing of untreated sewage or industrial waste upstream.
Mr Shah alleged AAP leaders are liars and no one "in the world" could match Arvind Kejriwal when it came to breaking promises. "Have any of you got poisonous water at home?" he asked people at the gathering. "I enquired about the report and people from the Jal Board said Mr Kejriwal was lying." The AAP dispensation under Kejriwal's leadership is "a government of lies, deceit, breach of promises and corruption", he charged.
"February 5 is a very big opportunity for the people of Delhi to get rid of this 'AAP-da'. Vote for the BJP, make Ramesh Bidhuri win (from the Kalkaji seat). Kalkaji will be made No 1 in Delhi," he told the gathering.
The ruling AAP alleged in a statement that out of desperation the BJP got the DJB CEO to released the letter on Monday which only confirms the charges levelled by Kejriwal are true.
The poisonous levels of ammonia were recorded at an alarming high of 6.5 ppm which is incapable of treatment, and dangerous for human consumption, it said.
"We challenge the BJP to form a joint team of engineers from Haryana and Delhi, with Election Commission oversight, to measure ammonia levels at every crucial point' from Haryana's water release to Delhi's entry points at Wazirabad and Palla," the AAP said.
Amit Shah also took on the Congress over its president Mallikarjun Kharge's remark on holy dips at the Ganga in Prayagraj and said the party under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had always insulted Sanatan Dharma.
"I took a dip (at Triveni Sangam) and Kharge ji caught a cold," the home minister said in a swipe at the Congress chief.
At the Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan rally in the Mhow town of Madhya Pradesh on Monday, Mr Kharge had alleged that BJP leaders were competing with each other to take a dip at the Sangam for the cameras, and asked if their act would help eradicate poverty in the country.
"If anyone was hurt, I seek an apology," the Congress chief had also said.
Reacting to the remark, Mr Shah urged Congress leader Mr Kharge not to poke fun at the faith of crores of people visiting the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj to take a holy dip at the Sangam.
On the Congress president's question if taking a dip in the Ganga would eradicate poverty, Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dip in 2019 and gave cooking gas, five kilogrammes of free foodgrains, toilets, provided free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh and "other facilities" to 60 crore people.
"Kharge sahab, you have turned 80. In your entire life, you have never taken a dip. Tell us what you have done for the welfare of the poor," Mr Shah asked the Congress president.
"My party BJP, our leader Modi ji, and we all have faith in the country's traditions and faith. That is why the Kartarpur Sahib corridor was built and such a magnificent Kumbh mela is being organised," he added.
Elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 5 and the votes counted on February 8.
Amit Shah said neither AAP nor the Congress could do any good for Delhi. He exhorted people to give their mandate to the BJP for the development of the national capital under Modi's leadership.
Alleging corruption during the AAP rule, he asked Kejriwal not to make excuses that his party's government failed to fulfil its promises due to the Covid pandemic.
"During the Covid pandemic, Modi ji took the country's economy from 11th to fifth. India received the highest FDI (inflow) during the Covid period," Mr Shah said.
He further asked Mr Kejriwal how he could build a "sheesh mahal" for himself and "commit the liquor policy scam", among others, during the pandemic.
The home minister also led roadshows in the Kasturba Nagar and the Badarpur constituencies.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
