BJP encouraged people to burst crackers, says AAP

On Friday, Delhi was enveloped by a thick haze a day after Diwali when people across the city burst crackers in violation of a complete ban on storage, sale and bursting of firecrackers by the Delhi government

A political war of words erupted on Friday over Delhi recording severe air quality largely due to rampant bursting of firecrackers on Diwali with the Delhi environment minister accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of encouraging people to violate the ban on firecrackers, and the opposition slamming the government for not taking adequate preventive measures.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Friday said that the large-scale cracker bursting on Diwali night, and increased stubble fires in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana were responsible for the Capital’s ‘severe’ air quality. (ANI File)

On Friday, Delhi was enveloped by a thick haze a day after Diwali when people across the city burst crackers in violation of a complete ban on storage, sale and bursting of firecrackers by the Delhi government.

Gopal Rai on Friday said that the large-scale cracker bursting on Diwali night, and increased stubble fires in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana were responsible for the Capital’s ‘severe’ air quality.

Rai also alleged that the BJP was behind deliberately encouraging people to burst crackers and defy the government’s ban. “Some people in Delhi burst firecrackers on purpose. BJP is behind this,” Rai said on Friday.

Delhi’s AQI on Thursday night slipped into the ‘severe’ zone, crossing the 400 mark on Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) air quality scale. The average AQI at 2pm on Friday was 463.

Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta slammed the Delhi government for not taking any concrete measures to curb pollution in the national capital. Referring to Rai’s statement, Gupta said, “The Kejriwal government is trying to hide its failure to curb pollution in the city.

In the past six years, the government has taken no concrete steps such as improving last mile connectivity, expanding the public bus fleet, encouraging the use of battery-operated vehicles, etc, to curb pollution. “They just want to tackle the issue by temporary arrangements. Ban on fire cracker is not the solution, as it hurts the religious sentiments of people. The government has now seen the result. They should have allowed the use of firecrackers for a limited period.”

He said Delhi’s AQI was in the poor category even when people were not bursting firecrackers. “It is wrong to blame people for bursting firecrackers. The AQI was in poor category even before Diwali. The government is just trying to pass the buck.”

He also questioned the Delhi government on the status of its green action plan, which was introduced in 2018. “They were to take 24 measures. We want to ask the CM about the status of all the measures proposed in the green action plan for which budget was also allocated.”