The Congress on Saturday raised concern over Delhi’s worsening air quality and held both the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government responsible for what it described as a lax and ineffective response to the crisis. Calling the situation a “murder,” Congress leader Sandeep Dixit said that addressing air pollution in the national Capital and neighbouring states is fundamentally a government duty, and that authorities cannot “escape by putting the blame on farmers and public.”
Speaking at a press conference, Dixit urged both parties to prioritise public health over political battles. “You can do your politics later when the elections are around the corner. Pay some attention to public health. We agree that people in Delhi are unfortunately not voting on the issue of pollution, but the government still has a responsibility. Time will tell how the governments played with people in a way they shouldn’t have,” he said.
Identifying the major contributors to pollution, Dixit blamed poor road infrastructure and a weakened public transport system in the national Capital. He claimed that the average vehicular speed in Delhi has slowed dramatically since the Congress government’s tenure. “Becasue you couldn’t build new infrastructure and reduce congestions, it is the uselessness of the government that the average vehicular speed came down to 21-15 km/h from 30-40 km/h,” he said. He further alleged that “demolished” public transport networks, pollution from unauthorised industrial zones and political complicity in allowing such units to operate have worsened the crisis. “Unauthorised factories would not have run without the involvement of the MCD, administration and politicians,” he added.
Dixit also pointed to large scale burning of waste as a major factor. “The piling up of waste in certain locations is not creating such a hazard as much as their burning has been causing,” he said.
His remarks came a day after leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, raised alarm over the crisis, calling it a “health emergency.” Gandhi highlighted its impact on children and questioned the Prime Minister’s silence. “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?” he wrote on X.
Separately, former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, in a post on X, criticised the 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.
Delhi’s AQI remained above 300 for the 23rd consecutive day on Thursday, the second-longest spell of ‘very poor’ or worse air days since 2019, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
The capital’s restrictions under Stage-3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) have been removed, allowing activities like non-essential construction, demolition and certain vehicular categories, including vehicles below BS-IV category.
Residents have, though, been advised to reduce outdoor activity, especially in the early morning and late-evening hours. The Delhi government also on Friday instructed all schools and other educational institutions to resume physical classes, which were mandatorily on hybrid mode till now.