Copyright thehindu
As air quality in the Capital continued to remain in the “very poor” category on Monday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) continued its scathing tirade against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. AAP claimed that BJP Ministers, including Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, are busy campaigning in Bihar for the upcoming Assembly election even as the city is choking under a blanket of “poisonous air”. Lashing out at the BJP, AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj in a post on X said, “The Warrior Moms [a collective of mothers fighting for children’s right to breathe clean air] have written to the Health Minister about the alarming pollution levels. But during this health emergency, Delhi’s Health Minister and other BJP Ministers have been busy in Bihar for the past several days.” Taking to X, AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar appealed to Ms. Gupta “now that you are done campaigning in Bihar, please pay some attention to Delhi too”. “Do you have any plan beyond blaming former CM Arvind Kejriwal?” Ms. Kakkar said. ‘Toxic mindset’ Former Deputy Chief Minister and AAP Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia said on X that “the truth is, it is not Delhi’s air but the BJP’s mindset that has become toxic”. In a riposte, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said before questioning Ms. Gupta and her Ministers for visiting Bihar for campaigning, AAP should clarify from where they managed to bring the “non-resident” Mr. Sisodia “just to issue a press statement today”. It was a jibe at Mr. Sisodia, who has been spending most of his time in Punjab. Mr. Sachdeva added that the BJP government is “responsible” and Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa is continuously working with environmental experts. “It is normal for CMs and Ministers from different States to travel and campaign during elections. But now that Mr. Bharadwaj has raised this issue, he should clarify – if it is wrong for Ms. Gupta to go to Bihar, what will he say about Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s visit to Gujarat when Punjab was affected by floods, Delhi Leader of the Opposition Atishi’s long stay in Goa, and former Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai’s extended election stay in Gujarat?” he said. Earlier in the day, Ms. Gupta convened a high-level meeting at the Delhi Secretariat on controlling air pollution. According to the Chief Minister’s Office, special teams are being formed to take strict action against industrial units and vehicles causing pollution. These teams will submit their reports each evening to the CM and Mr. Sirsa. Air quality status The Capital’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was 309 (very poor) at 4 p.m. on Monday, against 366 (very poor) on Sunday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily official bulletin
