'Very poor' Delhi air quality triggers political slugfest

AS AIR POLLUTION levels rose the day after Diwali, the Delhi government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had “forced” farmers in Punjab to burn stubble to foul the capital’s air.

- DEVANSH MITTAL & SOPHIYA MATHEW

The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) at 4 pm on Tuesday was 351 (very poor), up from 345 on Monday.

At a press conference, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa showed pictures and videos of people with their faces covered, burning paddy stubble.

“Iwant to showyou howthe Aam Aadmi Party [which rules Punjab] is deliberately forcing farmers to burn stubble in Punjab by covering their faces... Farmers have been forced to burn stubble by covering their faces, so that this can impact Delhi,” Sirsa said.

“Diwali is not a BJP festival; it’s a Sanatan Hindu festival. They (AAP) are our opposition, so they can abuse us, but why insult a sacred tradition? The same party that failed for 10 years [while ruling Delhi] is now blaming Diwali for pollution, a false narrative to appease a section of voters...,” Sirsa said.

The minister said AAP was speaking the language of “those who admire Aurangzeb and Akbar, who even put up the picture of Tipu Sultanin the Vidhan Sabha... Arvind Khan, Arvind Kejriwal,is trying to hide his failures by defaming a festival sacred to millions,’ Sirsa said.