Haryana court orders Kejriwal to appear over ‘Yamuna poisoning’ claims

New Delhi: A court in Sonipat, Haryana, has summoned former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it on February 17 following a petition filed against the AAP convenor who accused the BJP of "poisoning" the Yamuna River.

On Wednesday, Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Goyal heard a complaint brought by the State of Haryana through the State Disaster Management Authority against Arvind Kejriwal under Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act of 2005.

The complaint alleged that Kejriwal spread misinformation and caused panic among the residents of Delhi and Haryana with his "Yamuna poisoned" remark.

“So in view of aforesaid provision, let, notice to respondent Arvind Kejriwal be issued for 17.02.2025. He is directed to appear in person before this court on the next date of hearing, if he has to say anything in the matter. If he does not appear before this court on the next date of hearing, it is deemed that he has nothing to say in the matter and further proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with law,” the court ordered.

Earlier, Haryana Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Vipul Goel said that the state government has taken strong cognisance of the statement by Arvind Kejriwal regarding Delhi's water supply and has filed a case against him in the Sonipat court under the Disaster Management Act.

Days ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, Kejriwal said that the BJP was ‘mixing poison’ in the city’s water supply in an attempt to “create chaos... hoping the blame will fall” on his party's administration.

“The people of Delhi get drinking water from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh... but the Haryana government has mixed poison in the water coming to Delhi from the Yamuna and sent it here... it is only due to the vigilance of our Delhi Jal Board engineers that this water was stopped,” said the former Chief Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Delhi on Wednesday, also took a direct swipe at AAP over its allegations. PM Modi strongly refuted the claim that Haryana was contaminating Yamuna’s water and ridiculed the notion that the BJP-led state government would poison its own people.

Reacting to the allegation, the Haryana Chief Minister also slammed Kejriwal. “AAP-da's wooden sandals (khadau) Chief Minister Atishi Marlena ji, you are welcome on the banks of Yamuna in Palla village. There is no poison in the water coming to Delhi from Haryana, but your minds are definitely filled with poison,” the Haryana Chief Minister said.

Amid the raging controversy over the Yamuna River, the Haryana Chief Minister drank water from the river near the Delhi border and further slammed Kejriwal for “spreading lies”.

"I drank the water of the holy Yamuna on the border of Haryana without any hesitation. Kejriwal has blatantly lied. Even I'm having relatives in Delhi. The AAP convener should immediately tender an apology," the Haryana Chief Minister wrote on X.

With inputs from IANS