The Congress on Saturday asked the Delhi Government not to mislead the nation on the pollution agenda with regard to the Odd-Even vehicle rationing formula, adding that the issue of pollution should not swept aside because of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's political popularity.
"If you bring it back by saying that you will improve traffic, it's a welcome step, but don't mislead us by saying that will bring a difference to the environment and pollution, because that it has not. A serious issue like pollution should not get swept under carpet just because somebody has gained political popularity," Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told ANI.
"The Odd-Even formula has been a success in regard to traffic. If you move cars away from road, definitely traffic will improve. We are all happy with it. However, it has been seen world over that the Odd-Even formula in the long run does not produce any results, because the traffic comes back to normal in two-three hours time," he added.
Dikshit further said that there is no evidence that pollution has gone down, adding that it was already known that this will not be a step to improve pollution.
Earlier, Kejriwal and his Transport Minister Gopal Rai expressed their gratitude towards Delhiites for making the first phase of the plan successful.
"It was a tough call," said Kejriwal, "but the people of Delhi stood by it, followed it."
"Pollution level came down, but decongested roads were one of the things that people admired, he added.
