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Political row over Delhi air quality: Amid deteriorating AQI, blame game erupts between BJP and AAP
The air quality of Delhi slipped into the ‘severe’ category on Saturday, with the rising pollution levels increasing political tensions in the city.
Updated : Oct 30, 2022, 03:30 PM IST | Edited by : Vaishnawi Sinha
 "Political row over Delhi air quality: Amid deteriorating AQI, blame game erupts between BJP and AAP")
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As the winter chill is making its entry in the national capital, Delhi is once again dealing with deteriorating air quality and high pollution levels after Diwali 2022, most likely due to the flouting of the firecracker ban in the city and stubble burning in nearby states.
Just as the air quality of Delhi slipped into the severe category in several areas on Saturday, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city was found to be over 400 in many parts. Amid rising pollution levels, the political tensions in the city are also increasing.
As the AQI of Delhi is increasing with each passing day, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) have been embroiled in a blame game over the air pollution, despite the Delhi government’s winter action plan to curb air pollution.
The BJP leaders in Delhi have been actively protesting against the AAP government in the capital, saying that the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has failed to curb air pollution levels in the city, despite his party’s Graded Response Action Plan stage III.
Meanwhile, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena rejected the AAP campaign of 'Red Light on, Gaadi Off', which was launched with the aim to reduce air pollution. The Delhi LG said that AAP had lied about the start date of the campaign, which led to its rejection.
In a sharp retort to this move, AAP workers protested outside the residence of the Delhi LG, claiming that he had purposefully rejected the campaign to make sure that AAP is not able to curb the pollution levels in the national capital.
AAP alleged that VK Saxena is acting out of “political vendetta” against the Aam Aadmi Party, on the directions of BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These claims were refuted by BJP and Saxena, who further slammed the Delhi government.
The AQI in Delhi reached nearly 500 in some parts of the national capital owing to the stubble-burning activities in nearby states. The air quality reached the ‘severe’ category on Saturday and is likely to deteriorate further.
