"Delhi has become a gas chamber under Arvind Kejriwal": BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla
Nov 03, 2023
New Delhi [India], November 3 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shehzad Poonawalla on Friday slammed the Delhi government for the air quality crisis in the national capital and said that the metropolitan city had become a "gas chamber" under the governance of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The BJP leader hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and said that the health of people in Delhi was at risk, all due to the failure of the Kejriwal government.
Speaking to ANI early this morning in a park filled with smog and haze, Poonawalla said, "Usually when we come to a park, we come to ensure that our health becomes better but today when we have to come to a park in Delhi, one has to wear such kind of paraphernalia and such masks because Delhi has become a gas chamber under Arvind Kejriwal."
"Mr Kejriwal has ensured that the Air Quality Index (AQI) levels in Delhi are at their highest in the last four to five years. Even the American ambassador is commenting on it. It is reaching 600-700 AQI at many places in Delhi. When Mr Kejriwal was not in power in Punjab, he used to blame the (Parali) stubble burning in Punjab, although that was never the main reason of pollution, there are many other reasons internally for the pollution in Delhi," Poonawalla added.
"Now Mr Kejriwal, you have a government in Punjab, but the stubble burning has gone up, which is contributing to the pollution in Delhi. Today, Mr Kejriwal, the health of the children, senior citizens and all the other people of Delhi is at risk, and it is all because of the failure of the Kejriwal government," said the BJP leader.
The air quality in several parts of Delhi-NCR plunged to the 'severe' category on Friday morning.
People said they experienced breathing problems and irritation in the eye, among others. There was a thick haze blanketing the skyline of the national capital and adjoining areas as the Air Quality Index (AQI) breached the 400 mark at multiple locations.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government on Thursday ordered all government and private primary schools to remain shut for the next two days.
In the wake of the worsening air quality, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked the third stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Thursday.
Stage III of the GRAP is implemented when the AQI hits severe in the range of 401-450. As part of its response to combat pollution, the state government can impose strict restrictions on BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in certain areas and may suspend physical classes in schools for primary-grade children up to Class 5. The Delhi government has since suspended primary school classes.
