Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa has launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal over the deteriorating air quality in the national capital, accusing both parties of being responsible for the city’s pollution crisis.
Sirsa’s remarks came in response to Rahul Gandhi’s post on social media, where the Congress leader criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for Delhi’s worsening air quality. “Year after year, Delhi’s air is becoming increasingly poisonous, but BJP governments just keep changing their excuses. Now, both at the Centre and in Delhi, it’s their own government in power. Now, not excuses, the public wants clean air,” Rahul Gandhi wrote.
Kejriwal Blames Centre for Inaction
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also took aim at the BJP, saying the “four-engine government has sunk the entire ship.” In a post on X, Kejriwal appealed to residents of Delhi to protect themselves, claiming the government was not taking any concrete action. “My appeal to the people of Delhi is to take care of yourselves. This government is not going to do anything for you,” he said.
Sirsa Blames Congress and AAP for Pollution Crisis
Responding to both leaders, Sirsa accused the Congress and AAP of having “inflicted” the pollution problem on Delhi. “Rahul Gandhi is posting a video today asking how Delhi’s AQI got so bad. Rahul Gandhi, no one else ruined it. The Congress government started it for 15 years, and Arvind Kejriwal, your ally in INDIA Alliance, ruined it for 10 years,” Sirsa said.
He claimed that the “cleanest days of the last decade” were recorded under the current BJP administration, while the “dirtiest days” occurred during the previous governments. “Delhi’s AQI is 309 today. But when your ally Arvind Kejriwal was in power last year, it was 382. The year before that, it was 468. The year before that, it was 450. The year before that, it was 314. The year before that, it was 494, and the year before that, it was 340,” he said.
Sirsa Defends BJP’s Record
Sirsa argued that despite the increase in vehicles and construction activity, air quality had improved under the BJP. “The lowest AQI is still in place during Rekha Gupta’s government, even when more than 10% of new vehicles have arrived and over 21% of new construction is underway. Vehicles older than 10-15 years are also plying within Delhi — the very vehicles you had banned,” he added.
The minister went on to accuse Congress and AAP of spreading misinformation. “Rahul Gandhi, you left this disease behind, and Rekha Gupta’s BJP government is correcting it. The lies you are spreading today were spread by Priyanka Gandhi yesterday,” he said.
Referring to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s earlier comments on cloud seeding, Sirsa said, “Jairam Ramesh said that Rs 34 crore had been spent on cloud seeding — there could be no greater fraud or dishonesty than this. You want to systematically defame the Delhi government and the people of Delhi. The AQI disease was inflicted by you, Congress, and your ally, the Aam Aadmi Party. If you don’t know, listen now.”
Sirsa’s sharp remarks come amid mounting political blame over Delhi’s worsening pollution levels, with leaders across party lines trading accusations as air quality remains in the “very poor” category.
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