That the Yamuna water is not only not potable but also poisonous is not debatable. That a lot of these pollutants get into the river before it reaches Delhi is also not debatable. A cursory investigation would be enough to verify this.
By Premangshu Ray
The incidents leading up to the Delhi Assembly elections are a travesty of justice. These have been so shocking that calling it a travesty of justice is less than even a mild rap on the knuckles. There are many examples to support this contention. Each of these show beyond doubt how the people’s will has been sought to be subverted.
Just before the elections, a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate in Delhi was allegedly seen distributing salwar suits to garner votes. The vehicle in which these suits were kept is allegedly that of the candidate. However, there has been no report of any action taken by either the police or the Election Commission. The question that arises is why the police is not checking the vehicles of BJP workers.
On February 1, around 1:00 pm, individuals wearing BJP sashes and caps, allegedly linked to a BJP leader, physically assaulted Aam Aadmi Party workers Gaurav Singh, Suresh Acharya, and Pranali Rawat in the Chelmsford Club slum area in New Delhi, according to a complaint lodged by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh. The MP, who also alleged that Rawat was harassed during the incident, said police officers refused to intervene against the perpetrators.
Physical Abuse by Police
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal states in his letter to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar that on Saturday, senior AAP volunteer Chetan was unlawfully detained and booked at Tilak Marg Police Station on the fictitious ground that he has previous cases registered against him.
“He was brazenly charged with actions that he had never committed. He was also subjected to severe physical abuse by the Police officials to the point that he fainted and subsequently rushed to Lady Harding Hospital. Later on, after a lot of struggle, he was produced before the Return Officer/ SDM concerned and granted bail, in a matter in which he was brazenly framed,” the AAP convenor wrote.
There is nothing to show that Kumar has even said that this complaint would be looked into.
AAP has also alleged that its sitting MLA from north-west Delhi’s Rithala, Mohinder Goyal, who is seeking re-election, was assaulted by BJP workers while he was interacting with residents of Pocket H in Rohini’s Sector 11. The Delhi police, which comes under the Union home ministry, has brushed this away by saying that there was a “scuffle” between the MLA and some residents. The version of the police is difficult to accept as it is far from likely that an MLA seeking re-election would get into a scuffle less than a week before the polls.
On November 30, a man splashed some liquid on Arvind Kejriwal during his padyatra in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar. Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the man, who the party said is a BJP worker, had a matchbox in his hand and it was an attempt to burn Kejriwal alive.
Intimidation and Harassment
“It is no coincidence that this comes right after Arvind Kejriwal spoke out against the BJP’s failure to control crime in Delhi,” said senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia.
Kejriwal wrote to Kumar on Sunday expressing “grave concern over the intimidation and harassment being meted out to our grassroot volunteers in the New Delhi Assembly Constituency at the hands of BJP workers and Delhi Police”.
There is nothing to show that the Election Commission has acted on any of these concerns or on any other issue of impropriety by the members and supporters of the BJP. What it has done instead is to ask Kejriwal for an explanation for his statement about the pollution of the Yamuna water and proof with regard to the remarks he has made on that score.
That the Yamuna water is not only not potable but also poisonous is not debatable. That a lot of these pollutants get into the river before it reaches Delhi is also not debatable. A cursory investigation would be enough to verify this. Despite this, the Election Commission has chosen to demand that Kejriwal provide proof to back up his statements.
It would have been fitting for the poll panel to have used its time and energy to look into the numerous complaints made against members and supporters of the party in power at the Centre.
The author is a senior journalist who writes on sociopolitical and socioeconomic issues.
