BJP MLAs wear O2 masks, carry cylinders into Delhi House

BJP legislators also sat in protest inside the assembly premises and demanded chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members on Monday protested with oxygen cylinders and facemasks in the Capital, alleging that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government was ignoring the issue of air pollution plaguing the city.

BJP legislators protest against AAP government outside the Delhi assembly with oxygen cylinders and facemasks. (ANI)

Delhi’s pollution levels deteriorated slightly on Monday, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 270 (poor), a sharp spike from Sunday’s 213 (poor).

Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the leader of the opposition in the Delhi assembly, said, “Delhi has become a gas chamber. People are suffering from cancer and lung diseases due to pollution. Hospitals in Delhi are full of patients with respiratory diseases due to pollution. The number of children and elderly people is very high among these patients, but the government is not working to check pollution.”

The AAP did not respond to the allegations.

According to Bidhuri, the AAP government has not paid attention to an ageing fleet of buses in the city. “Not a single DTC bus has been purchased in Delhi for eight years. The electric buses that have come in the last few months have also been given by the central government. The entire fleet of 3,760 buses of DTC has completed its life. Due to the non-availability of public transport, people bring their vehicles on the roads and due to this pollution is increasing,” Bidhuri claimed.

BJP legislators also sat in protest inside the assembly premises and demanded chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation, with Bidhuri claiming that the opposition was not given a chance to raise its voice in the assembly. “This has forced us to adopt this way to draw attention to the failure of the Kejriwal government in checking pollution,” said Bidhuri.

The legislators who entered the assembly hall with oxygen cylinders were reprimanded by Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, who asked security personnel to remove the cylinders and asked Bidhuri to produce a medical certificate to establish that he needed an oxygen cylinder.

Goel said, “Show me the certificate if you had corona (Covid-19). I will allow you (to carry the oxygen cylinders) .... Please have some shame. I urge members to maintain peace.”