Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday claimed that Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini "pretended" to drink Yamuna water and then spat some of it back in the river, a charge rejected by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Mr Kejriwal, who has claimed that the Haryana government had mixed poison in the water coming to Delhi from the Yamuna, shared a video of Mr Saini performing Achman (sipping holy river water) at the river bank in the state.
"Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini pretended to drink Yamuna water... and then spat the same water back into the Yamuna. When I said that Yamuna water could be dangerous for the lives of Delhiites due to ammonia contamination then they threatened to lodge a case against me," he posted on X and tagged a video of Mr Saini.
"They want to make the people of Delhi drink the same poisonous water which they themselves can not drink. I will never let this happen," Mr Kejriwal, the former Delhi chief minister, added.
BJP's Haryana unit, however, charged that the AAP chief had shared an "edited" video of Mr Saini.
"Mr Kejriwal, take off the glasses of lies and deceit and watch the video again and if you have the courage then try drinking the water of Yamuna from Delhi's side," the party said while tagging the "real" video.
Mr Saini also shared his video on X, saying "Performed Achman of holy Yamuna water at the Haryana-Delhi border without any hesitation."
"Yamuna Water Extremely Poisonous"
Arvind Kejriwal, who was asked by the Election Commission to furnish proof backing his allegation that the BJP government in Haryana has poisoned the Yamuna water, on Wednesday responded to the poll body with data about pollution in the river.
In a 14-page letter, Mr Kejriwal said raw water received from the BJP-ruled state in the recent past has been "highly contaminated and extremely poisonous" for human health.
"The verifiable fact remains that Delhi, as a lower riparian state, depends on raw water supply from Haryana, an upper riparian state, for potable water," the letter read.
"That Delhi receives raw water from Haryana which is being used for human consumption in Delhi. The raw water received from Haryana recently is highly contaminated and extremely poisonous for human health," he said.
He said the "facts prove no violation of any law or any code has been committed".
"I beseech and most humbly request the Election Commission to intervene on the major issue of availability of safe water and pass appropriate directions to the State of Haryana so that a safe quantity of water is made available to the citizens of Delhi," he added.
Ahead of the assembly election in Delhi, the BJP and the Congress have challenged Mr Kejriwal over his poisoning of Yamuna claims.
While the BJP accused him of lying, Congress's Rahul Gandhi Wednesday said, "Five years ago, Arvind Kejriwal said that he would take a bath in the Yamuna River and drink the water of the Yamuna River. It has been five years, and to date, Kejriwal ji has not drunk the water of Yamuna".
