‘Criminal negligence’: BJP slams AAP govt over air pollution

AAP’s Gopal Rai questioned why the BJP was avoiding a meeting called to discuss ways to reduce pollution in the city in winters

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on Saturday criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over the bad air that annually plagues Delhi in the winter season, alleging that pollution levels have seen a spike every year due to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s “criminal negligence”, affecting millions of people who suffer from respiratory problems.

Virendra Sachdeva (ANI)

The AAP hit back, accusing the BJP of “running away” from meeting on air pollution.

At a press conference, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that instead of taking necessary steps ahead of the winter months, the AAP government is busy “shirking responsibility”.

“Following the extreme pollution recorded in the Capital over the past decade, especially last year, Delhi residents hoped that the Kejriwal government would wake up in 2024. However, it is regrettable that Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai is merely playing with letters to evade responsibility,” he said.

The BJP leader was referring to a letter that Rai wrote to Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Friday to convene an meeting with stakeholders to evaluate proposals for cloud seeding to induce artificial rain in order to combat air pollution. “Winter pollution is a very serious issue... but it is unfortunate that Rai wants to wash his hands off the responsibility of winter pollution by playing with letters with the Centre,” said Sachdeva.

Responding to the BJP’s allegations, the AAP issued a statement questioning why the party was “avoiding” the Rai meeting.

“Rai... requested a meeting with the Union environment minister to meet... but unfortunately the BJP is running away from the meeting... Does the Union environment minister have no time to meet...,” it said.

“We are preparing a 14-point Winter Action Plan...‘artificial rain’ is one of them. For this, the Delhi government requires specific permissions from the central government,” the AAP said.

Separately, Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav sought the lieutenant governor’s intervention to find a solution to the Capital’s toxic air “as the people of Delhi do not trust Rai’s hollow promises”.