Delhi BJP stages protest outside Arvind Kejriwal's house over water crisis

New Delhi, May 6 (IANS) The Delhi BJP on Tuesday staged a protest outside the residence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, holding him responsible for the Punjab government tussle with Haryana over water supply to the state and the national Capital.

Under the leadership of Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva the protestors claimed the national Capital was heading towards a water crisis due to cuts in Bhakra Canal water supply to neighbouring states by the Arvind Kejriwal-controlled government of Bhagwant Singh Mann in Punjab.

Sachdeva, Delhi MPs, MLAs, and several municipal councillors staged a protest outside the residence of Kejriwal in Central Delhi

The protesters sat at a bus queue shelter near Kejriwal’s house and raised slogans.

Those present included MPs Manoj Tiwari, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Yogendra Chandolia, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Praveen Khandelwal, Bansuri Swaraj; MLAs Ajay Mahawar, Jitendra Mahajan, Neeraj Basoya, Anil Sharma, Shikha Rai, Sanjay Goyal, Gajendra Daral, Rajkumar Bhatia, along with state BJP office bearers and heads of party cells.

Carrying placards against the Punjab government and wearing black armbands, the protestors demanded that Arvind Kejriwal instruct the Punjab government to revoke the water supply cuts from the Bhakra Canal.

Speaking on the occasion, Sachdeva claimed that Arvind Kejriwal was now blocking Delhi’s 'rightful' share of water in Punjab, and that the Punjab government led by the AAP was conspiring to leave Delhi thirsty during peak summer.

He professed that Arvind Kejriwal and his party had not yet accepted their defeat in Delhi, and as revenge, they were punishing the people of Delhi.

Sachdeva further said, “After the attack in Pahalgam, India stopped Pakistan’s water, and in a similar act, Kejriwal, frustrated by his defeat, is stopping water for the people of Delhi.”

He said, “It is our collective responsibility to ensure Delhi gets its rightful share of water. That is why we stand today outside his residence, demanding accountability for why Kejriwal and his party are punishing innocent Delhiites for their own political defeat.”

The verbal war in Delhi over river water sharing escalated during the day when Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma accused Arvind Kejriwal of punishing Delhiites for his party’s electoral defeat by asking his party’s Punjab government to restrict water supply to Haryana and Delhi.

His remarks evoked a sharp response from AAP leader and former Delhi CM Atishi who said, "Delhi gets water from the Yamuna and the Ganga and none of these two rivers flow through Punjab. So, there is no question of accusing Punjab of stopping Delhi’s water supply.”

--IANS

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