AAP, BJP trade barbs over water issue

AAP and BJP indulged in a blame game on Tuesday over the issue of water shortage in Delhi, with both parties accusing each other of mismanagement and spreading misinformation. The Delhi unit of the BJP submitted a memorandum to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, alleging that the AAP government in Punjab was pushing Delhi "into artificial water shortage by announcing a cut in Bhakra canal water supply to other state" after AAP's defeat in Delhi polls. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) strongly denied the allegations and accused the BJP of engaging in "cheap politics". The fresh sparring between the two parties came amid a water dispute between Haryana and Punjab after the latter refused to release water from the Bhakra dams. Delhi receives approximately 1,005 million gallons per day (MGD) of raw water, with the majority—around 60 per cent or 613 MGD—coming from Haryana. The BJP leaders, who also protested outside AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Feroz Shah Road, claimed the move was politically motivated and aimed at destabilising the Delhi administration after AAP's recent electoral losses in the city. “There is no shortage of water in the Bhakra Dam Canal, yet the Punjab government has announced a huge cut in supply,” the memorandum read. “This is a ploy by Arvind Kejriwal to punish Delhiites,” it added.

The memorandum was signed by Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva and Members of Parliament Yogender Chandolia, Bansuri Swaraj, Manoj Tiwari, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Praveen Khandelwal. "I want to ask Arvind Kejriwal why he appears to be undermining Delhi’s water interests. His actions raise serious questions—it's almost as if he’s acting against the national interest... It seems he is more focused on political vendetta following his electoral defeat than on ensuring water security for the people of Delhi," Sachedva, who led the protest, told reporters. AAP leaders hit back, saying Delhi’s water sources do not lie in Punjab. “Punjab has not discriminated. If Haryana needs more water, the Prime Minister should divert water going to Pakistan to Haryana,” AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh told PTI Videos. Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma accused the Punjab government of a “conspiracy,” claiming that Delhi’s supply had been reduced by 88 cusecs on May 1 and 130 cusecs on May 5. “This is dirty politics by the AAP-led Punjab government to take revenge for electoral losses,” he said. Countering the allegations, former Delhi chief minister and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Atishi called for Verma’s resignation. “They don’t even know that Delhi’s water comes only from two rivers — Yamuna and Ganga — and neither flows through Punjab. That’s why Punjab cannot stop Delhi’s water,” Atishi said in a video message posted on X. “Delhi's Water Minister Parvesh Verma should resign,” she said

Atishi said that Delhi receives Ganga water from the Upper Ganga Canal and Yamuna water from the Munak Canal. “Water is not coming less. If Delhiites are facing a shortage, it is due to the BJP’s mismanagement,” she alleged. “How will a minister who doesn’t even know from which river Delhi gets its water be able to manage it?” she asked. The controversy has escalated amid a broader inter-state tussle over water distribution during summer, with the Punjab Assembly recently passing a resolution asserting that not a single drop of its share would be given to neighbouring states. Delhi receives around 60 per cent or 613 MGD water from Haryana. Of this, 548 MGD is supplied through the Munak canal, which originates in Karnal and receives a portion of its water from the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). An additional 65 MGD is channelled through the Wazirabad barrage. Uttar Pradesh contributes about 25 per cent of Delhi’s water supply, amounting to 257 MGD, while the remaining 15 per cent, or 135 MGD, is drawn from groundwater sources across the city.