New Delhi, June 17 (IANS): Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday dismissed charges of any discrimination against the national capital in terms of water supply and blamed it on the ‘inept and inefficient’ AAP government for the city’s severe water woes, for the past couple of days.

Saini told media persons in Kurukshetra that the Haryana government was releasing more water than earlier to mitigate water woes in the capital but the AAP government’s approach to the crisis has only aggravated the situation. He termed the Delhi administration as ‘inept and inefficient’ for its failure to build a system of water distribution despite being 10 years in power.

“In the past 10 years, they didn’t build any mechanism for water distribution to city residents. Under the AAP regime, the middlemen and corrupt officials are making money. Rather than engaging in a blame-game, they should look within and reform the system,” Haryana CM said, rejecting the charges levelled by AAP leaders.

“They have cheated the people of Delhi by making false poll promises. They should focus on creating a robust system and clamp down on the rampant corruption,” he added.

Notably, AAP and BJP have been engaged in a war of words over Delhi’s water woes. AAP government has accused BJP-ruled Haryana of not releasing adequate water, thus forcing it to reel under crisis. AAP’s Sanjay Singh called it a ‘BJP-sponsored water crisis’. On the other hand, Delhi BJP leaders have mounted widescale protests against the Delhi government, in many areas of the capital facing severe water deficit.

While the city reels under a water crisis, the role of the private tanker mafia and corrupt officials has also come into play. Delhi Water Minister Atishi recently claimed that she was kept in the dark by the corrupt Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials about a ‘drop’ in the number of tankers, as compared to 2023 while Delhi BJP leaders blamed it on the collusion between ‘corrupt’ state govt officials and water tanker mafia.