New Delhi: A day after Diwali, with the capital shrouded in poisonous fog, Delhi surroundings minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa hit again at AAP’s criticism, accusing former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of urging farmers to burn stubble in Punjab, the place air pollution within the area is worsening.
At a press convention on Tuesday, Sirsa claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering authorities in Delhi has began “cleansing up” the “mess created by the Kejriwal authorities”.
“They cannot digest this, so that they’re crossing the state borders and creating issues in Punjab,” he mentioned as footage of purported stubble burning was proven on a display screen.
Sirsa made the assertion as Delhi residents have been allowed to mild “inexperienced” firecrackers for the primary time in years on Diwali.
Earlier within the day, Delhi AAP president and former well being minister Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering authorities of getting an “settlement” with the “firecracker foyer”.
Beforehand, there have been suspicions that the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering authorities in Delhi had some sort of association with the multi-million greenback “Firecracker Foyer”, however that’s now virtually sure.
The Delhi authorities’s district decide and his staff, in addition to the Delhi Police, didn’t cease the unlawful sale of normal crackers regardless of the SC’s permission.
— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) October 21, 2025
“Delhi authorities district Justice of the Peace, his staff and Delhi Police didn’t cease unlawful sale of normal crackers though SC permission was given solely to ‘inexperienced crackers’,” Bharadwaj mentioned in a publish on X.
Specialists have beforehand mentioned that permitting large-scale explosions of “inexperienced” firecrackers, that are comparatively much less polluting than conventional firecrackers, would nonetheless improve air pollution in cities.
Referring to the Common Air High quality Index (AQI), Sirsa mentioned the measurements present how “inexperienced” firecrackers don’t worsen “general air high quality.”
He mentioned the common AQI elevated by “solely 10 factors”, indicating that Diwali was not the primary driver of air pollution. He mentioned when firecrackers have been banned in Delhi in 2021, the AQI elevated by 80 factors after Diwali.
“This exhibits the incompetence of the Kejriwal authorities… For years when Kejriwal banned firecrackers, the air pollution remained the identical and even elevated after Diwali. However we have now proven that celebrating Diwali isn’t an issue. This was only a ploy by Kejriwal and AAP in opposition to the Hindu competition,” the minister mentioned.
Delhi’s 24-hour AQI on Tuesday was “very poor” or 351, barely increased than Monday’s 345, in keeping with information from the Central Air pollution Management Board (CPCB). A more in-depth have a look at the hourly AQI information exhibits that the air high quality in a number of elements of the town plummeted to ‘extreme’ on Diwali evening and hours after.
Yearly, with the onset of winter, air air pollution spikes in Derry, North Carolina. Chilly climate and gentle winds, together with excessive emissions from autos and stubble burning, entice pollution within the air and blanket the area in a poisonous haze.
Air pollution often worsens after Diwali, however this 12 months the competition was celebrated earlier than the onset of winter, and the tempo of stubble burning in states didn’t choose up.
On Mr Bharadwaj’s claims about lacking AQI information, Mr Sirsa mentioned AAP’s accusations have been “false” and the BJP had “nothing to cover”.
ThePrint has confirmed that PM2.5 ranges couldn’t be measured at monitoring posts akin to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Rohini, Okhla, Anand Vihar and RK Puram for a number of hours from Monday evening.
The minister mentioned cleansing, monitoring and utilizing smog weapons at building websites have been among the many measures taken by the federal government to scale back air pollution.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
Additionally learn: Amid Diwali smog, international media reviews that air pollution doesn’t look like an emergency for the Indian authorities
