Rahul Gandhi demands Parliament debate on Delhi’s air pollution

As Delhi-NCR's air quality has remained in a deteriorated state, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday (November 28) demanded a detailed discussion in the House on the issue of air pollution in Delhi-NCR, ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament.

He raised many concerns about Delhi's air quality after holding a discussion with a group of mothers at his residence and questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this "health emergency".

Also Read: Delhi’s air quality remains unchanged at 'very poor' amid continuing pollution crisis

He also demanded a strict, enforceable action plan to tackle air pollution, and asked why the Modi government was not showing any urgency or accountability on the issue.

Rahul met group of mothers

After holding a discussion with a group of mothers at his residence on the issue, Rahul shared a video of his conversation with them, with several of them raising concerns over the impact of pollution on the health of their children.

"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 asked in a post on X.

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?… pic.twitter.com/HR87tlHQ1f

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 28, 2025

Parliament debate on air pollution

Rahul urged an immediate, detailed Parliament debate on air pollution and said, "Our children deserve clean air - not excuses and distractions."

In the video, he said everyone in Delhi is affected by pollution, the poorest and the richest.

"The reason there is pollution is that there are stakeholders who benefit from the pollution, and to put it bluntly, they are more powerful than you are. Now, when you are talking of political will, the consequences of this power will affect it. If you have 500 to 1,000 commercial units that are polluting Delhi, they have political power, and the problem is that the average citizen is not organised at all. So, he has no political power," he said in the video.

Also Read: Delhi air quality remains ‘very poor’ for 13th straight day

He told them that while they already have a choice to deal with air pollution, many people in India do not.

He further said, "You can go to the doctor, but there are many who don't. The pollution problem is the tip of the iceberg. I am more than happy to help you because I think it is important. I breathe the same air, and it is terrible. My niece and nephew grew up with it. You can't escape it; there is no way".

Women raise concerns

During the conversation with Rahul, many women shared their concerns and suggestions to tackle the air pollution. As one suggested having a debate in Parliament, Rahul said, "There would be a fair goal to let us have a debate on air pollution in Parliament."

He also asked them how they were seriously thinking about organising people and how they were going about it.

Also Read: CREA study finds Delhi most polluted; 60 pc of districts analysed breach PM2.5 norm

A woman told Rahul that there are almost 500 children under five years who die every day in India because of air pollution, and yet this has never been an emergency.

Another woman said that this was a chronic national medical emergency, yet there was no advisory from the government, and asked what it was doing for a whole generation of kids, and why was the government silent on it.

She said, "If we don't act now, it is going to be like a bomb in the next 10 years."

Delhi air pollution

Delhi has been battling very poor air quality for the past 15 days. According to the forecast by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the air quality is likely to remain "very poor" over the coming week.

Also Read: Delhi toxic air: Protest turns tense as agitators 'chilli spray' police

With Delhi's air quality slipping deep into the "very poor" and "severe" categories this winter, doctors stressed the need for regular diagnostic screening to detect early signs of pollution-linked health deterioration, especially among smokers, asthma patients, children, and people with pre-existing cardiac or respiratory conditions.

Experts said preventive health checks have become increasingly important as toxic air triggers airway inflammation, reduces lung function, and aggravates underlying diseases.