Delhi assembly: BJP MLAs carry oxygen cylinders to draw attention to pollution

They demanded chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation while blaming the Aam Aadmi Party government for inaction in checking the pollution

Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers arrived in the Delhi assembly on Monday wearing oxygen face masks and with cylinders to draw attention towards air pollution in the capital. They demanded chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation while blaming the Aam Aadmi Party government for inaction in checking the pollution.

Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the Opposition leader, called Delhi a gas chamber. (HT PHOTO)

Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the Opposition leader, called Delhi 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 is very high among these patients.”

He claimed the Delhi government has not paid any attention to public transport or the roads. “Not a single DTC [Delhi Transport Corporation] bus has been purchased for eight years. The electric buses that have come in the last few months have also been given by the central government.”

He said the entire fleet of 3760 DTC buses has completed its life. “Due to the non-availability of public transport, people use their vehicles and due to this pollution is increasing.”

Bidhuri said the Opposition was not given a chance to raise its voice in the assembly. “It forced us to adopt this way to draw attention to the failure of the Kejriwal government in checking pollution.”

Speaker Ram Niwas Goel objected when the lawmakers entered the assembly hall with the cylinders. He asked the security personnel to take away the cylinders and Bidhuri to produce a medical certificate to establish he needed oxygen support.

The BJP’s protest coincided with Kejriwal’s march from the Delhi assembly to the lieutenant governor’s office against alleged interference in the government’s functioning.