Haryana CM Saini rejects Delhi govt charge of restricted water supply

Chandigarh:Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini Sunday rejected the Delhi government's charge that his state was not supplying the national capital's share of water, asserting his dispensation is releasing water to the city over and above the agreed-upon quantity.

The BJP leader asked the AAP dispensation to pay attention to proper management and distribution of the resource.

"(Arvind) Kejriwal is misleading people. Earlier too, he raised this issue. They want to hide their own shortcomings," Saini said, when asked about the AAP government's allegations.

"We are giving water to Delhi over and above the agreed-upon quantity," Saini told reporters in Karnal.

On the exit polls predicting Prime Minister Modi to retain power for a third straight term, Saini said, "We have been saying right from the start that the NDA will win 400 seats".

On exit polls predicting that the BJP may not win all the 10 seats in Haryana as it did in 2019, Saini said, "When results are out, you will see that lotus (BJP's poll symbol) is blooming on all 11 seats (10 LS plus Karnal assembly bypoll seat)."

Taking a dig at Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, Saini said, "He did not pay attention to development, but to corruption. I want to say that they (AAP) should not try to divert public attention (by saying Haryana is not releasing the share of water) and focus on development and giving facilities to people".

"If people in Delhi face inconvenience, Haryana also feels the pain. But Kejriwal paid more attention to corruption and did not focus on providing facilities to people.

"Rather than talking here and there, they should ensure proper management and distribution of water to Delhi residents," he said.

Notably, Delhi is facing an acute water shortage, with the AAP government recently accusing Haryana of not releasing the national capital's share of water.

The BJP has blamed the AAP government for the water crisis and claimed that Haryana is supplying the city 1,049 cusecs of water from the Yamuna that exceeds the agreed-upon quantity.

On Friday, several Haryana ministers had hit out at the Kejriwal government, blaming its "mismanagement" for Delhi's water crisis and said it has become a habit for the AAP dispensation to blame Haryana on every issue.

In a letter to Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat a few days ago, Delhi Water Minister Atishi had said there has been a drastic dip in the water level at the Wazirabad barrage during the last few days as Haryana is not releasing the required quantity in the Yamuna.

The Delhi government on Friday also moved the Supreme Court, seeking a direction to Haryana to release surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh to the parched national capital for urgent mitigation of its water woes compounded by scorching heat.

Last month, Saini accused the AAP of "lying" after Atishi alleged the neighbouring state had stopped water supply to the national capital as part of the BJP's "new conspiracy" ahead of polling in the city on May 25.