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BJP: Pollution will be core issue in elections, AAP hits back
New Delhi
New Delhi
Accusing Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal doing nothing to curb pollution in the city, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday said that air quality was going to be the core issue in the upcoming assembly elections.
BJP MP Vijay Goel called the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government’s decision to implement odd-even a “publicity stunt”.
Goel said, “Kejriwal government has done nothing to curb pollution in the last four-and-a-half years. Pollution is increasing in Delhi day-by-day, but Kejriwal is trying to discredit reports of various institutions and experts. This is betrayal of the people of Delhi. Pollution is going to be the core issue in the upcoming elections.”
Asking the government to list out the measures it has taken to curb pollution, Goel said that the state government should be “ashamed” that it is distributing masks. They are now distributing masks. It is understandable if opposition does it. They should be ashamed of it,” Goel said.
Saurabh Bharadwaj, spokesperson of AAP, said, “Not just Delhi, pollution should be main election issue across India. In a recent 2019 report released by World Economic Forum, out of top 10 most polluted cities in the world, seven are in India. Interestingly, Delhi does not figure in the top 10 list but all other seven cities under BJP-ruled state govts. It includes Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurugram, Bhiwadi, Patna, Lucknow.”
Goel said the AAP government had failed to deliver on its election promises such as augmenting the fleet of DTC buses. He said that the government’s decision to implement odd-even was a publicity stunt.
“They have made so many exemption in the odd-even scheme. This is nothing but a publicity stunt. I had opposed it earlier,” said Goel.
Goel claimed the central government had taken measures to address the pollution problem in the city. “The Centre has give Rs 1,100 crore to Haryana and Punjab governments to address the issue of stubble burning. We got the highway network constructed around Delhi…How many times has Kejriwal spoken to Haryana and Punjab CMs regarding pollution in the last three months?” said Goel.
Bharadwaj said, “In the ongoing Haryana to elections also, Vijay Goel should question BJP CM for pollution in Gurugram, Faridabad and Bhiwadi. Though efforts of Delhi people and government, the average pollution of Delhi has come down by 25%, but Delhi cannot control stubble burning in BJP-ruled states of Haryana and UP.”
