Yamunanagar (Haryana) [India], January 30 (ANI): Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini inaugurated 'International Saraswati Festival-2025' at 'Adi Badri' in Yamunanagar where mythical Saraswati river believed to be originated. He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various projects of the Irrigation and Water Resources Department.Sharing details of the event in a post on X Saini wrote, "Launched "International Saraswati Festival-2025" at 'Adi Badri' (Yamunanagar), the origin of river Saraswati." "On this occasion, by participating in the 31 Kundiya Havan Yagna, prayers were offered for the happiness and prosperity of all the families of the state. We all should work together continuously for the conservation of our natural heritage. Also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various projects of Irrigation and Water Resources Department," said Saini. Later in the day, CM Nayab Singh Saini visited the banks of the Yamuna River in Delhi's Palla village on Wednesday, where he took a sip of water to counter accusations made by Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal had alleged that the Haryana government had "poisoned" the water supplied to Delhi, with the intention of causing harm to its residents. Saini termed Kejriwal's statement as "unfortunate" and accused him of making the remarks to "create fear in the minds of people" for political gain. Speaking to reporters, he said, "An unfortunate statement by Arvind Kejriwal was given to create fear in the minds of people for his political benefits." Saini further stressed, "Today, I have come here to the banks of River Yamuna and took a sip of water from Yamuna. He said that the BJP Goverment of Haryana has poisoned the Yamuna River. He spoke about mass genocide." "The water resource authority took samples from here and no poison was found in the water," he added, alleging that Arvind Kejriwal has "lied all his life..." The controversy originated from Kejriwal's remarks on Monday, where he accused the Haryana government of "poisoning" the Yamuna water supplied to Delhi, claiming it could have caused mass fatalities. Kejriwal said, "If this water would have entered Delhi only to be mixed with the drinking water, many people would have died in Delhi. It would have caused mass genocide." (ANI) Meanwhile, Kejriwal on Wednesday responded to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding his "poisoned water" remarks, in which he levelled serious allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana for "poisoning" the Yamuna water coming to Delhi.Kejriwal stated that the statements made by him were in "furtherance of an imperative public duty.""Statements were made in furtherance of an imperative public duty to highlight the severe toxicity and contamination of raw water received from Haryana, which presents an imminent and direct threat to public health," the letter signed by Kejriwal read. (ANI)