Rahul Gandhi calls Delhi’s air quality a ‘health emergency’; BJP blames Congress, AAP govts

A political row kicked off on Friday after Opposition leaders hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led governments at the Centre and state over air pollution in Delhi.

A political row kicked off on Friday after Opposition leaders hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led governments at the Centre and state over air pollution in Delhi.

Gandhi alleged that the air pollution issue continues “because there are stakeholders who benefit from it” (HT photo)

In a post on X, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “silence” on the “health emergency” in the national capital and across the country. Gandhi also pressed for a full discussion on the issue in winter session of Parliament.

“Every mother I meet tells me the same thing: her child is growing up breathing toxic air. They are exhausted, scared and angry. Modi ji, India’s children are choking in front of us. How can you stay silent? Why does your government show no urgency, no plan, no accountability?” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.

He shared with the post a video of his meeting with, Warrior Moms, a collective of mothers campaigning for children’s right to clean air. In the video, said the government has long been in “denial” and has relied on little more than “optics” while the crisis deepens.

Gandhi alleged that the air pollution issue continues “because there are stakeholders who benefit from it”.

“If there are 500 to 1,000 commercial units who are polluting Delhi, they have political power. Moreover, the average citizen is not organised at all, and therefore, has no political power. Pollution problem is the tip of the spear,” he added.

In the post, he further added, “Our children deserve clear air - not excuses and distraction,” he added.

Separately, former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, in a post on X, criticised the Delhi government for not reducing GST on air purifiers.

“Clean air and clean water are the basic rights of every citizen. The air in North India including Delhi has become lethal, and instead of providing a solution, the government is collecting taxes from the public. People go to buy air purifiers to protect their families from pollution, only to discover that the government is charging 18% GST on them… I demand that the central government immediately remove the GST imposed on air and water purifiers. If you can’t provide a solution, at least stop burdening the public’s pockets,” Kejriwal posted on X on Friday.

In response, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the pollution issue develops every year in the city due to the inaction by successive Congress and AAP governments over the past 27 years.

“Not only did these governments fail to take any concrete steps to reduce pollution, they didn’t even conduct a study to determine the main causes of pollution in Delhi. The people are shocked by former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statements on pollution and want to ask him what concrete measures his government took during its ten years in power, when pollution levels kept worsening each year,” Sachdeva said in a statement.

It is due to the efforts of the BJP government that AQI level has been lower in November this year when compared to previous years.