Kejriwal, EC lock horns over Yamuna pollution

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday accused Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar of "destroying the credibility" of the national poll panel, hours after the agency issued the a former Delhi chief minister a sharply worded letter asking him for "factual evidence" of his allegation that Haryana was poisoning the Yamuna's waters, as the tussle over pollution in the river that has become a mainstay ahead of the February 5 elections spiralled to new heights.

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued Kejriwal a fresh notice on Thursday morning a day after the AAP chief responded to the poll panel's initial missive in the controversy, asking him not to "mix issues" and instead answer specific questions it laid down about his allegations.

The panel also said that Kejriwal's claims were "promoting disharmony and enmity between different groups, and overall public disorder and unrest, even by the most sober interpretation".

Asked about the fresh letter at a press briefing on Thursday afternoon, Kejriwal took a swipe at CEC Kumar.

"I want to tell ECI, with all due respect, they don't notice money being distributed openly in Delhi. They cannot see blankets being distributed in the city... ECI is doing politics because Rajiv Kumar wants a postretirement job. I want to say to Rajiv Kumar that history will not forgive you. Rajiv Kumar has made a mess of the poll body," Kejriwal said in a press conference.

During the conference, Kejriwal, accompanied by chief minister Atishi and party MP Sanjay Singh, also displayed four bottles of water purportedly laden with ammonia collected from the Yamuna. The bottles, were labelled with the names of Union home minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Delhi chief Virendra Sachdeva, and would be sent to them, Kejriwal said. A team of AAP leaders led by Singh later visited the BJP headquarters to "deliver" the bottle to Shah, but were stopped by police.