New Delhi (India), October 13 : Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday accused Rahul Gandhi and the opposition of prioritising political ambitions over public interest, alleging that they did not care about party workers, the public, journalists or police personnel. 
Responding to a question about allegations that a female journalist was mistreated during a protest involving Rahul Gandhi and had been admitted to hospital, Gupta alleged that the opposition was willing to damage the system to fulfil its political ambitions.
"Look, these people, the so-called opposition as they call themselves, are so consumed by their political ambitions that they care about no one. They don't care about party workers, they don't care about the public, they don't care about reporters, nor do they care about police personnel. They want to damage the entire system purely and solely to fulfill their own political ambitions," Gupta said.
The Delhi Chief Minister also criticised the opposition over its objections to the Special Summary Revision (SIR) process, arguing that its response depended on the electoral outcomes in different states.
"The SIR process took place across the entire country. Where the results turned out in their favor, they remained quiet. But where the results didn't favor them, they started leveling allegations. Was the SIR conducted differently there? Were the officials different?" she said.
Gupta further alleged that the opposition was attempting to mislead the public and harm the state and the country.
"The people across the entire country are witnessing how they are causing harm to the state, how they are harming the nation, and how they are making futile attempts to mislead the public," she added.
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav also defended the SIR of electoral rolls, calling it a routine Election Commission process, and highlighted the Delhi government's measures to tackle air pollution.
Yadav defended the SIR process while responding to questions about the protests being staged in Delhi by Rahul Gandhi. He referred to the electoral exercise in Kerala and the Congress's political alliances in Tamil Nadu, arguing that the protests were intended to create confusion.
"Look, the core issue is this: ask them one thing—SIR was conducted in Kerala, and a Congress government was formed there. But in Tamil Nadu, to latch onto a new ally, they did not hesitate for even 20 minutes to abandon partners they had stood with for 20 years. Those who can discard their long-term allies in 20 minutes and who are content with their own election outcomes in Kerala: this entire protest is merely about spreading confusion. I believe this misconception will soon be cleared," Yadav said.
Responding to a question about the Aam Aadmi Party approaching the Supreme Court against the SIR process, the Union Minister said the exercise was being conducted in accordance with established guidelines and previous court rulings.
"This action has been carried out in accordance with previous court rulings. SIR is not a novel procedure; it is a routine, ongoing process of the Election Commission carried out strictly in adherence to set guidelines," he said.
Yadav also referred to the opposition's earlier statements about alleged duplicate or erroneous entries in electoral rolls, arguing that its objections to the current revision exercise were inconsistent.
"When they lost the previous Lok Sabha elections, just look back at their statements—they were the ones insisting that duplicate or erroneous names exist and should be purged. Now, when the voter lists are being purified, they still have an issue. So clearly, the issue lies only with them; nobody else has any problem with it," he added.
During the same interaction, Yadav praised Gupta's leadership in implementing measures to address air pollution in Delhi, saying that the government had taken steps to put 11 action points into practice at a major pollution hotspot.

He congratulated Gupta, her team and the party's local leadership for implementing the measures on the ground, rather than allowing them to remain confined to paper.
Highlighting the reported improvement in air quality at the hotspot, Yadav said the Air Quality Index (AQI), which stood at 430 on August 30, had declined to 92 today.
"Look for yourself: on August 30, the AQI here was 430, which has come down to 92 today. What is the reason behind this? Bidhuri ji, who was appointed as the nodal officer here, convened meetings. All traffic from Delhi and all traffic from Uttar Pradesh were managed," he said.
Yadav also highlighted measures to regulate buses and expand cleaner public transport in the national capital. He said the Delhi government had increased the combined fleet of electric and CNG buses to more than 5,500, in line with its commitment to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
"In line with the commitment earlier made to the CAQM, the Delhi government increased the combined fleet of electric and CNG buses to over 5,500," he said.
The Union Minister added that the government had established charging infrastructure and coordinated the efforts of the Delhi Traffic Police, Public Works Department and other agencies to address pollution.
"This serves as a prime, living example of what is called a 'whole-of-governance' approach," Yadav said.
He further said the Delhi administration would inspect every pollution hotspot in the city, with continuous monitoring by the administration and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
"We will visit every hotspot across Delhi. The Delhi administration is continuously monitoring them, and the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) is also actively tracking the situation," he said.
Yadav also urged the media to remain associated with the pollution-control initiative and said the government would explain how data from the Integrated Command and Control Centre was being used to inform governance and policy interventions.