Working to mitigate poison left behind by AAP: Delhi Environment Minister amid calls to curb air pollution

New Delhi: Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Monday claimed that the citizens' protest at India Gate, demanding a government policy to curb air pollution in the national capital, was organised by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

He said that the state government was working to mitigate "poison left behind by AAP". Speaking to reporters here, Sirsa criticised the previous AAP government in Delhi, saying that it destroyed everything in the last 10 years.

"AAP is organising this protest. But it is they who left here with 10 years of pollution. I would like to ask them who gave this pollution? Did it happen on its own? No. AAP destroyed everything in 10 years. The AQI was 500-1000 last year. They gave us 10 years of disease. AQI kept rising every year," the Delhi Minister said.

Sirsa further argued that the Rekha Gupta government has been consistently cleaning up the national capital by removing garbage dumps and installing anti-smog guns on all high-rise buildings. "But after Rekha Gupta's government came to power, we have been successful in cleaning things up month after month. We are removing garbage dumps, installing anti-smog guns on all high-rise buildings in Delhi, mitigating dust in Delhi, and electric buses are being brought in. So, a 10-year disease cannot be cured in 6-7 months. We are working to mitigate the poison left behind by the AAP in Delhi's air," Sirsa said.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit out at the Delhi government and police for "preventing" citizens from protesting against increasing air pollution in the national capital. Ramesh, General Secretary incharge of Communication in Congress, said that it is the duty of citizens to "protect and improve the natural environment" under Article 51-A (g) of the Indian Constitution. "The iconic India Gate is on Kartavya Path - so named by the PM himself. The citizens of Delhi who are protesting for better air quality are only wanting to carry out their own Kartavya under Article 51-A (g) of the Constitution of India which mandates them 'to protect and improve the natural environment'," Ramesh posted on X.

The Rajya Sabha MP further questioned the Delhi police for shutting down the citizens' protest over "atrocious air quality" in the national capital. Delhi Police detained people protesting at India Gate on Sunday, demanding that the government formulate policies to curb air pollution in the National Capital region. A resident of Delhi said that this is not a political issue.

The air quality in the national capital has been shifting between the 'severe' and 'very poor' categories in most places.

(ANI)