After yet another toxic Diwali in Delhi, BJP blames stubble burning in AAP-led Punjab

As Delhi-NCR gasped for breath on yet another Diwali despite going green with eco-friendly crackers, the new BJP government’s Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa chose to blame the AAP government in the neighbouring Punjab instead, accusing it of “forcing” farmers to burn crop residue to send pollution levels up in the national capital.

The minister showed videos, purported to be of stubble burning in Punjab, at a press conference to back his claim.

“The farmers in Punjab are being forced to burn stubble in the fields by the AAP government. The highest number of parali (crop residue) burning incidents occurred in AAP-ruled Punjab on Diwali night,” Sirsa claimed.

Only an increase of 11 points, says Sirsa

He claimed that while AAP leaders “condemned the Delhi CM, the BJP, and Sanatan Dharm followers over the celebration of Diwali and bursting of crackers”, the real reason behind worsening air quality was stubble burning in Punjab.

Sirsa said the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was 341 before Diwali, and it rose to 356 afterwards, up by just 11 points. “We admit with pride that our government has given people a chance to celebrate Diwali in our traditional way. Due to firecrackers, there is only an increase of 11 points in AQI after Diwali,” he said.

The minister also alleged that the AAP was “playing religious politics”. “Will the AAP challenge the sacrifice of goats on Eid by our Muslim community? I challenge Arvind Kejriwal to not play religious politics. You fight with us, but do not make religion a part of it,” the BJP leader said.

Also read: Delhi’s air quality in ‘red zone’; residents flout SC’s time limit for firecrackers on Diwali

Amit Malviya blames Kejriwal

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya, too, blamed AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal for failing to curb stubble burning in Punjab, since the party is in power in that state.

“Unless Arvind Kejriwal-ruled Punjab stops burning stubble, Delhi and NCR will continue to choke. Stop blaming Deepawali for the sins of the Aam Aadmi Party — it’s their smoke, not the festival’s lamps or firecrackers, that darkens Delhi’s skies,” Malviya posted on X.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra took a dig at the BJP government and its blaming of Punjab farmers. “Guess Punjab farmers didn’t sleep on Sunday night — they burnt stubble to choke Delhi. Meanwhile, 90% of crackers sold were normal stamped with fake green label since no differentiation mechanism exists. AQI? IQ? Test basis? Supreme Court Zindabad,” Moitra wrote on X.

Toxic Diwali

The day after Diwali, Delhi residents on Tuesday (October 21) woke up to a thick haze, as air quality plummeted to the “red zone” after a night of heavy cracker-bursting.

Last week, the Supreme Court temporarily allowed the sale and use of green firecrackers, restricting it to two hours — from 6 am to 7 am and 8 pm to 10 pm — on October 19 and 20. However, Delhiites openly flouted the apex court’s order and carried on with bursting crackers for hours after the deadline.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the PM2.5 level in Delhi was 228 micrograms per cubic metre at 6 am on Tuesday, which is 15.1 times the limit of 15 micrograms per cubic meter (24 hours) prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Delhi was the “most polluted” among 120 major cities in the world on Tuesday morning, according to Swiss air quality technology company IQAir’s live data. Delhi, with an AQI of 429, was followed by Pakistan’s Lahore (260) and Karachi (182).

Also read: Delhi’s air quality worsens on Diwali amid stubble fire surge in Punjab

Citizens need introspection

Another Delhi minister, Ashish Sood, however, admitted that citizens should have adhered to the Supreme Court’s guidelines.

“The AQI in Anand Vihar at around 5am was 943 and 390 in Shahdara. Only firecrackers are not responsible for pollution in Delhi. However, I believe people should have followed the SC’s order to burst crackers before 10pm,” Sood told news agency PTI.

TMC MP Sagarika Ghose posted on X along similar lines. She urged citizens to introspect and acknowledge their role in exacerbating Delhi’s pollution.

“Toxic smoke across Delhi this morning. Over 200,000 in Delhi have been rushed to hospital with emergency ARI (Acute Respiratory Illness) in the last year. We must collectively ask ourselves & introspect why we voluntarily choose to harm our own health,” she wrote.

Delhi’s AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj attacked the government in the morning, blaming it for failing to control pollution and questioned why the “promised artificial rain was not conducted”. Bharadwaj told news agency ANI. “The government said after Diwali, we will fix all the pollution by conducting artificial rain. Did artificial rain happen? No…,” he said.

(With agency inputs)