Shehzad Poonawalla accuses AAP's Delhi govt of 'anti-Sanatan mindset'

Chhath puja is being celebrated and even so the pollution level in River Yamuna is on an all time high with toxic foams floating all over, Poonawalla attacked AAP govt

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Wednesday attacked Aam Aadmi Party over the pollution levels in the national capital and River Yamuna, accusing the party of being a 'liar' and having an 'anti Sanatan minset.'

The BJP leader also said that AAP was doing politics over festivals like Diwali and Chhath Puja and playing a 'blamegame' over pollution.

Speaking to ANI, Poonawalla said, "AAP is the biggest liar. They used to blame stubble burning in Punjab for air pollution. Since the AAP government has been formed in Punjab, they started blaming UP and Haryana. They can even blame the Israel-Lebanon war for this."

 

"Arvind Kejriwal had spoken 'on record' that he would not blame anyone and will make River Yamuna as clean as River Thames by 2025. Today Gopal Rai is saying that the people of UP are contaminating and polluting the River Yamuna. The stretch between Okhla to Wazirabad creates 80 per cent pollution in the river. The sewage treatment plants are not effectively working," said Poonawalla.

Poonawalla also targeted AAP over the contamination in River Yamuna and said, "Chhath puja is being celebrated and even so the pollution level in River Yamuna is on an all time high with toxic foams floating all over. People especially women will come to give arghya to Sun God and pray to Chhathi Maiya in the river. During this, one can imagine how it will affect their health."

Adding further, he said, "It is the anti-Sanatana mindset of AAP where they ban firecrackers on Diwali and now people cannot celebrate the Chhath Puja properly. They are doing politics."

Delhi's air quality remained 'very poor' on Wednesday morning with a thin layer of smog covering several parts of the national capital for the sixth consecutive day post-Diwali.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was recorded at 358 as of 8 am today.

Many areas of the city reported very poor air quality levels, posing significant health risks.

Thick toxic foam was seen floating on the Yamuna River in Kalindi Kunj, as the pollution level in the river remains high.

An AQI is considered "poor" between '200 and 300', "very poor" at '301 and 400', "severe" at '401-450," and 450 and above is "severe plus."

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Delhi government as to how the ban on bursting firecrackers in the national capital to curb air pollution was flouted during Diwali celebrations.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih asked the Delhi government to file an affidavit on the steps taken to ensure that pollution is tackled and to enforce the firecracker ban in the city.

The bench observed that there are widespread reports in newspapers that the ban on firecrackers was not implemented and said it wanted the Delhi government to immediately respond why the firecracker ban was hardly implemented.

It further directed the Delhi government and the Police Commissioner of Delhi to file affidavits highlighting what steps they propose to take so that this thing does not happen next year.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Archana Pathak Dave also told the bench that there was absolute non-compliance with firecracker restrictions during Diwali this year and added that there is a report suggesting a huge increase in air pollution on the day of Diwali, with the pollution percentage rising from 10 per cent to 27 per cent.