Union Minister and former Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, stated on Sunday that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) could have secured 5-7 additional seats in the Delhi assembly elections had its leader Arvind Kejriwal not made his controversial allegations about the Yamuna river being poisoned.
Khattar was responding to a media query regarding the outcome of the 2025 Delhi elections, where the BJP ousted AAP, winning 48 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly. One of the prominent casualties was Kejriwal himself, who lost from the New Delhi constituency.
Khattar criticised Kejriwal’s statement about the Yamuna river, claiming that while water disputes among states are common, Kejriwal has a habit of blaming others when he fails to meet his commitments. Khattar reminded the public of Kejriwal’s earlier promise that he would not contest the 2025 elections if he failed to clean the Yamuna river.
When this was not achieved, Kejriwal alleged that the water from the river was being "poisoned" from Haryana. Khattar believes this statement cost Kejriwal dearly, especially since, according to him, had Kejriwal not made such an allegation, AAP would have won 5-7 more seats.
Khattar pointed out that more than 40 per cent of Delhi's population comes from Haryana and that the statement made by Kejriwal insulted both the people of Haryana and Delhi. He clarified that Delhi receives its water supply from Palla in Haryana and that the water quality at Palla had been deemed satisfactory by the Delhi Jal Board and the Delhi Pollution Control Board.
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However, Khattar added, the water quality deteriorates significantly after passing through Wazirabad, ISBT, and ITO, and the river water quality becomes poor once it enters Haryana again at Okhla.
Khattar also mentioned that following Kejriwal's remarks, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini performed a ritual of "aachman" (ritualistic sipping of water) at the Yamuna border between Haryana and Delhi to demonstrate the quality of water coming from Haryana.
Khattar also highlighted the actions taken by the Election Commission, which had issued a notice to Kejriwal after his statement, asking for proof of his claims.
In response, Kejriwal backtracked and explained that his comments about poisoning referred to high levels of ammonia in the water. Khattar concluded by noting that a court case was currently being heard regarding Kejriwal's "poisoning" statement.
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