New Delhi [India], November 3 : Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab of worsening pollution in the state, alleging that several places had recorded Air Quality Index (AQI) levels exceeding 1,000 and claiming that the pollution was also affecting Delhi.
Addressing a press briefing, Sirsa alleged that AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal had taken the pollution crisis from Delhi to Punjab.
"Arvind Kejriwal has set a new record in Punjab after Delhi. Just as he ruined Delhi with pollution over ten years, he has now established a new history in Punjab. The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Bathinda has reached 1,100, earning it the title of the most polluted city in India. Kejriwal has taken the title of India's most polluted city from Delhi to Punjab, with Bathinda receiving it. I am not saying this; today's news reports are confirming it," Sirsa said.
Listing AQI readings from several locations in Punjab, the Delhi Minister said, "It is not just Bathinda; looking at the rest of Punjab, the AQI is even higher in Barnala at 1,244. Talwandi Sabo recorded an AQI of 1,036, Malout 960, Abohar 885, Gurdaspur 528, Jalandhar 690, and Ludhiana 560. These are the records they have set. Just as Kejriwal ruined Delhi through pollution, in five years they have also devastated Punjab, shattering all statistical records and setting a new precedent with the most polluted city and state in the country. This news comes directly from Punjab itself."
Sirsa further alleged that pollution generated in Punjab could move towards Delhi due to western disturbances, worsening the air quality in the national capital. He held the AAP government responsible for the pollution levels in both states.
"I want to ask the Aam Aadmi Party: what else was left for you to destroy? After ruining Delhi, you have ruined Punjab. When the AQI in Punjab exceeds 1,000, and with the western disturbances taking place, this severe air quality will naturally drift toward Delhi and devastate it as well. Therefore, the pollution levels in Delhi are also the creation of the Aam Aadmi Party, coming from the pollution they have generated inside Punjab, which is now moving toward Delhi due to western disturbances," he said.
Targeting Kejriwal over the pollution situation, Sirsa said, "I congratulate Arvind Kejriwal on setting this record. Just as he ruined Delhi, he has ruined Punjab. In Punjab, drugs are being provided freely. Punjab was already devastated by drugs, gangsters, and debt; whatever remained was the environment, and now they have ruined Punjab with pollution as well."
Earlier in the day, Sirsa launched a sharp attack on the AAP-led Punjab Government. He said Delhi is cleaning its air through year-round action, while AAP's Punjab Government is undoing that work with farm fires, fake data and political appointments.
Minister Sirsa said the AAP Punjab Government has made Reena Gupta, AAP's Delhi spokesperson and a relative of Arvind Kejriwal, Chairperson of the Punjab Pollution Control Board.
"An environmental scientist held this post before her. Senior IAS officers and experts held it before that. Yet AAP’s Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann picked a party spokesperson on Kejriwal's signal. A regulator has been turned into a party office that manages narratives," he said.