New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Monday accused the ruling BJP in Haryana of "intentionally" draining industrial waste into the Yamuna, an act that she termed "water terrorism", prompting AAP supremo Kejriwal to allege that the saffron party is trying to kill people by mixing "poison" in the river.

Hitting back at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said it is their old habit of blaming others and then running away, while asserting that the people of Delhi will teach them a lesson in the February 5 Assembly polls.

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"I asked them (the AAP government in Delhi) to send their chief secretary and said I will ask my chief secretary to check the quality of the water at Sonipat, from where the Yamuna enters Delhi. Anyone can check the water quality there.

"They are talking about ammonia, but there is no shortage of water. There is an issue in their (Delhi's) distribution system.... He (Kejriwal) should work instead of making allegations," Saini told reporters in Chandigarh.

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The fresh accusation by the AAP leaders escalated the ongoing war of words between the Kejriwal-led party and the BJP ahead of the Delhi election.

Later in the day, the chief executive officer of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), which supplies water in the national capital, wrote to the Delhi chief secretary, terming the statements of Atishi and Kejriwal "false", and saying that they might lead to fear-mongering among people.

The fact is that the DJB regularly monitors the quality of the incoming water and regulates supplies, depending on various parameters, the officer said.

At a press conference, Atishi alleged that the BJP is "deliberately disrupting" Delhi's water supply as a "historic loss" awaits the saffron party in the upcoming Assembly polls in the capital.

"The bewildered BJP is resorting to tactics, such as stopping the water supply. Haryana is intentionally draining industrial waste into the Yamuna to harm the people of Delhi and influence the election outcome unfairly," she said.

Atishi pointed out that the ammonia level in the Yamuna water has skyrocketed to an unprecedented 7.2 parts per million (PPM) due to the discharge of industrial waste into the river.

Meanwhile, sources said the Election Commission (EC) has directed the Haryana government to submit a factual report in the matter by Tuesday noon, following a complaint made to the poll panel by Atishi and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

Kejriwal claimed that around one-third of Delhi is facing a shortage of drinking water due to the BJP's "dirty politics".

He said those associated with the saffron party are sending "poison-mixed" water to Delhi to trigger a "chaos" and blame the AAP for the deaths of people. Such actions, like using biological weapons and mixing poison in rivers, have been heard in case of countries engaged in a war, he told reporters.

In a post in Hindi on X, the AAP chief alleged that those associated with the BJP in Haryana are mixing poison in the water and sending it to Delhi.

"If people in Delhi drink this water, many will die. Can anything be more disgusting than this? The poison that is being mixed in the water cannot even be cleaned in water treatment plants. For the safety of the people of Delhi, the water supply has to be stopped in many areas," he said.

The BJP wants to commit a "mass murder" of the people of Delhi but the AAP will not let that happen, he added.

He said alert DJB engineers prevented the polluted water from entering the capital. "Had that water entered Delhi and got mixed with drinking water, a mass genocide would have occurred," the former chief minister said.

BJP leader Parvesh Verma, who is pitted against Kejriwal in the upcoming polls from the New Delhi constituency, said since the AAP is going to taste defeat in the election, the former chief minister is making such baseless allegations.

"He (Kejriwal) is going to be defeated in the election. He knows that he will not be able to survive without power, that is why he is making such baseless allegations. Bhagwant Mann is also scared since he knows that if the AAP does not form its government in Delhi, Kejriwal will be the next Punjab chief minister," Verma told PTI Videos.

In their complaint to the EC, Atishi and Mann alleged that there has been a deliberate attempt by the Haryana government to jeopardise Delhi's water supply, which is bound to have serious consequences for the conduct of free-and-fair elections in the capital.

"I am sure you will agree that denying their rightful share of water to 34 lakh people in Delhi amounts to water terrorism, and is a blatant attempt to cause panic and chaos across Delhi, thereby influencing the free-and-fair nature of the Delhi election," Atishi said in the complaint.

The Delhi Assembly polls are scheduled for February 5, with the results set to be announced on February 8. As the campaigning intensifies, allegations and counter-allegations add fuel to the capital's political atmosphere.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)