New Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS): The Congress' New Delhi Assembly candidate Sandeep Dikshit on Wednesday lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor, Arvind Kejriwal over his claim that the Yamuna River was being "poisoned", calling it a "blatant lie" and demanding a criminal investigation into the statement.
Dikshit accused Kejriwal of misleading the public with false claims and said the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had already denied the allegations.
"This is a very serious statement from his side, and I feel that he has told a white lie. The DJB has denied it. We have filed a complaint with the Election Commission, but more importantly, I have written to the Lieutenant Governor to launch an enquiry and register an FIR over this," he told IANS.
The controversy erupted after Kejriwal alleged that the BJP-led Haryana government was "poisoning" the Yamuna River, affecting Delhi's water supply.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had approached the Election Commission, stating that the water supplied from Haryana to Delhi contained high levels of ammonia.
Dikshit, however, dismissed Kejriwal's allegations and said, "Arvind Kejriwal has a long history of making false claims. It's nothing new. He believes that the more lies he tells, the more votes he will get. But the truth is, none of his claims have ever been proven. It is unfortunate that someone like him can stand in the political arena and seek votes from the people."
Backing Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's "Sheesh Mahal" attack on Kejriwal, Dikshit said the AAP had failed in governance and did not deserve to be in power.
When asked whether the BJP or the AAP was the tougher competition for the party in the Assembly elections, Dikshit said, "The BJP and AAP are different. We will target the Chief Minister who has been running the government. The Delhi government is not run by the BJP; it is run by the AAP.
"When we raised questions about the BJP's governance, the people of Delhi removed them from the MCD. Now, the people will do the same to AAP because they have failed to run the Delhi government."