The politics over stubble burning and air pollution in Delhi has heated up with the Bharatiya Janata Party hitting back at the Aam Aadmi Party yesterday, a day after the city’s ruling party blamed the central government for it.
The BJP claimed that it has been ‘proven’ that there is more pollution due to local factors inside Delhi.
“Day before yesterday, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told you about the daily data of stubble burning changes. He told you of an overall average of 4%. In response to that, the Delhi government gave a figure of 1st November, 2019,” BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma said at a press conference.
She quoted a newspaper report to bolster her point of variation of such data on a daily basis.
Sharma claimed that the share of pollution caused by stubble burning in Delhi on Wednesday was 1%. The same was 6% on Thursday and 18% on Friday.
The BJP’s counter charge comes after the AAP’s attack on Friday.
The AAP had hit out at both the Congress and the BJP while it welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to appoint retired judge Madan B Lokur to monitor stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh amid rising pollution in Delhi and its surrounding areas.
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are ruled by the BJP, while Punjab is ruled by the Congress.
“These two parties are forming an alliance to allow stubble burning,” the AAP alleged.
Sharma alleged that “the Delhi government has announced a budget of Rs65,000 crore this year and has allocated only Rs52 crore to the Environment Department.”
She also demanded to know when smog towers are going to be set up in the national capital.
Related Story