Once again, political discord has erupted over air pollution in Delhi. Manjinder Singh Sirsa, a minister in the Delhi government, launched a scathing attack on Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday. He accused AAP of deliberately provoking Punjab's farmers to burn stubble, making Delhi's air more toxic.
Sirsa claimed that AAP leaders in Punjab are coercing farmers to burn stubble while covering their faces to protect their identities. Sirsa said, 'I want to show you how AAP is forcing farmers to burn stubble. Farmers themselves are not willing, but they are being told to do so.' According to him, the goal of AAP is to hold farmers responsible for Delhi's pollution and tarnish Diwali's image.
Continuing his attack on AAP, Sirsa accused Kejriwal of hurting Hindu sentiments. He said, 'There are restrictions on crackers during Diwali, but silence prevails over other religious practices. Does Kejriwal say anything when animals are sacrificed on roads during Bakrid? These people are busy tarnishing Diwali's image and attacking Hindu traditions like Aurangzeb.'
Keijriwal's Government: A Decade of Failures
Sirsa further stated that the Kejriwal government has miserably failed to control pollution in ten years. He remarked, 'Arvind Kejriwal spent ten years blaming Punjab's farmers. Now, after only seven months of work on many old problems in Delhi, they are agitated.'
Sirsa Presents Data
Sirsa supported his claims with data. He highlighted changes in Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) in the last three years post-Diwali. According to Sirsa, there was an 83-point increase in AQI in 2023, a 32-point rise despite a cracker ban in 2024, yet this year, when people widely celebrated Diwali, the increase was just 11 points. What do these figures convey?
He asserted that these statistics prove firecrackers during Diwali are not the main pollution cause. Sirsa stated, 'A government that fails to clean the air despite odd-even schemes, cracker bans, and other restrictions has no right to question the faith of Delhi's residents.'
Additionally, Sirsa highlighted the current administration's achievements. He mentioned the removal of 27 million metric tons of waste, the introduction of thousands of electric buses, and the re-operation of several sewage treatment plants (STPs).
AAP Responds
Meanwhile, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj countered Sirsa's allegations. Saurabh Bharadwaj remarked, 'An uneducated person claimed that stubble burning in Punjab has increased Delhi's pollution, while Punjab's AQI is only 156.'
