Amit Shah vs Arvind Kejriwal: Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday lashed out at Arvind Kejriwal for accusing the Haryana government of mixing poison in the Yamuna, describing it as a false allegation, challenged the Aam Aadmi Party boss to make public the Delhi Jal Board report that he cited to level the charge.
Addressing a public meeting in the Kalkaji assembly constituency, ahead of the Delhi assembly election, Amit Shah also dared Arvind Kejriwal to tell the people of the national capital the name of the poison that he claimed was mixed in the Yamuna.
In another dare, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader asked the former Delhi chief minister to show the official order where the latter had asked to stop the “poisonous” Yamuna water from entering Delhi to save the people of Delhi.
“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,” Amit Shah said in his attack.
On Monday, the AAP accused the ruling BJP in Haryana of “intentionally” draining industrial waste into the Yamuna, with Arvind Kejriwal alleging that it was trying to kill people by mixing “poison” in the river.
Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO Shilpa Shinde, however, refuted Kejriwal’s allegation in a letter to Delhi chief secretary Dharmendra, calling the claim “factually incorrect, without basis, and misleading”.
Alleging that AAP leaders are liars, Shah said no one could match Kejriwal when it came to breaking promises.
“February 5 is a very big opportunity for the people of Delhi to get rid of this ‘AAPda’. Vote for the BJP… make Ramesh Bidhuri win (from the Kalkaji seat). Kalkaji will be made No 1 in Delhi,” Shah told the gathering.
Elections to the 70-member Delhi assembly will be conducted on February 5, and the votes will be counted on February 8.
Use of public money for common man or big corporates: Kejriwal attacks BJP
Arvind Kejriwal launched a strong critique of the BJP on Tuesday, framing the upcoming Delhi polls as a choice between using public money for the welfare of the common man and for bailing out big corporates.
Addressing a rally in northeast Delhi’s Ghonda constituency, Kejriwal accused the ruling BJP at the Centre of misusing taxpayers’ money by waiving loans worth ₹10 lakh crore for 400 major corporations, while promising that the AAP would continue investing in public-welfare schemes.
“This election is about deciding where our public money goes — whether it should be used for the common people or given away to the big corporates who have benefitted from loan waivers,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)