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Dissatisfied with his response, the Election Commission on Thursday asked Arvind Kejriwal not to mix the issue of increased ammonia in Yamuna with his allegation of river poisoning and gave him a fresh opportunity to explain his charge, prompting the Aam Aadmi Party supremo to accuse poll body chief Rajiv Kumar of doing politics.
The EC asked the former Delhi chief minister to provide factual evidence with specific and pointed response to the type, quantity, nature and manner of poisoning of the Yamuna.
Kejriwal, who is contesting the Delhi polls from the New Delhi seat, was asked to share details of engineers, location and methodology of detecting the "poison" by Delhi Jal Board staff by Friday 11 am, failing which the Commission will be free to take appropriate decisions in the matter.
Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal slammed Chief Election Commissioner Kumar and said, "No one has damaged the Election Commission as much as Rajiv Kumar has. If he wants to do politics, contest elections. He is eyeing a post-retirement job."
The AAP chief said that he will not let the people of Delhi drink poisonous water till he is alive, claiming that they (BJP) will arrest him in the next two days, but he is not afraid.
On Wednesday, Kejriwal responded to the EC notice over his claim that the Haryana government was "mixing poison" in Yamuna, and said raw water received from the BJP-ruled state in the recent past has been "highly contaminated and extremely poisonous" for human health.
In the 14-page reply to the EC, the former Delhi chief minister said if such "toxic water" is allowed to be consumed by people, it would lead to grave health hazard and fatality.
Targeting Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini on Thursday, Kejriwal said the CM "was trapped in his own drama" and claimed that Saini could not have even a sip of the water during his visit to Palla.
"Yet, he wants the people of Delhi to consume this poisonous water," he added.
"Our MP Sanjay Singh, along with other AAP leaders, will go to BJP headquarters with these water bottles. If Amit Shah, Nayab Saini, Virendra Sachdeva, and Rahul Gandhi, who have conspired to make Delhi's people drink poisonous water, drink it, we will accept our mistake," he said at the presser.
Later, AAP leaders, including Singh, were stopped by police near the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, as they tried to give ammonia mixed water to the party leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Both the BJP and the Congress launched attacks on Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party over the Yamuna pollution.
Addressing a poll rally in Rohini assembly constituency here, Shah on Thursday alleged that Kejriwal allowed the Yamuna river to get polluted and forced the people of Delhi to drink its water.
With people asking what happened to fulfilling his promise of making the Yamuna clean like the Thames river in London, Kejriwal is making an "excuse" by falsely accusing the BJP government in Haryana of mixing poison in the river, Shah charged.
He termed Kejriwal's accusation against the Haryana government "petty politics" and alleged the AAP government could not fulfil Kejriwal's promise of cleaning the Yamuna during its 10-year rule due to "corruption".
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also lashed out at the AAP supremo over his five-year-old promise of making Yamuna water potable, saying it reflected his "hollowness".
At a public meeting on Thursday, Gandhi said, "He (Kejriwal) speaks lies one after another just like Modi, there is no difference. There is only one thing, probably Kejriwal is even more 'chalaak' (cunning) than Modi. So, you must not forget who stands with you, who protects the Constitution and who speaks the truth."
Addressing a poll rally in Krishna Nagar here, BJP president J P Nadda also slammed Kejriwal for his remarks that Haryana is "mixing poison in the Yamuna".
Calling Kejriwal "anti-national" for making such an allegation, Nadda said, "He is pitting people of Delhi and Haryana against each other. He is trying to create panic among the people. He does not deserve to be in politics."
Hitting out at the BJP, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, in a post on X, said, "The Yamuna water which had touched 7 ppm ammonia, which is poisonous for the human body, was being sent by the BJP government of Haryana to the people of Delhi."
"If the AAP raises its voice, you will file a case against it. I am willing to go to jail for the safety of the people of Delhi but will not compromise with the lives of the people," he said.
BJP and Congress leaders who are creating drama about becoming the leaders of the people of Delhi should try drinking this poisonous water mixed with 7 ppm ammonia, the former deputy chief minister said.
The controversy erupted earlier this week when Kejriwal accused the BJP-led Haryana government of "mixing poison" in the Yamuna, likening it to an "act of war between nations". The BJP hit back, calling his statement "dangerous and irresponsible".
The war of words has intensified just days before the Delhi assembly elections on February 5, with results set to be declared on February 8.
The AAP, which has ruled Delhi for the past decade, faces a fierce contest with the BJP, which is striving to return to power in the national capital after 25 years.