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New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said it is a welcome sign that even though crackers were burst during Diwali celebrations on Monday night, there was no significant negative impact on the air pollution situation in the area.
Sachdeva said leaders like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Saurabh Bhardwaj are forced to oppose Diwali crackers to please the Muslim community to secure their vote bank.
The Delhi BJP president said, “That is why they keep spreading confusion among the public on some issue or the other. Currently, AAP leaders are making statements blaming the minor increase in air pollution on Diwali firecrackers and demanding another ban on them.”
Sachdeva said that without a doubt, the AQI – which increases every winter – will increase slightly this year too.
On the morning of October 31, 2024 – the day after Diwali – a record-breaking AQI of 396 was recorded in Delhi. Today, October 21, the average AQI of the city is 356, he said.
He said although farmers in Punjab have been troubled by floods this year, now that the flood waters have receded, they are working to clear their fields, which also includes burning some stubble.
“A total of 309 major incidents of stubble burning were recorded in Punjab between October 11 and October 19, 2025,” he said.
Sachdeva said, it is shameful that the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Punjab neither earlier helped the farmers to stop stubble burning nor is it now providing any assistance to the flood-affected farmers to stop them from burning stubble.
The Delhi BJP President said that it is true that the pollution level has increased in Delhi after Diwali, but it is also true that the news of stubble burning in Punjab started coming out two to three days before the pollution level started increasing on October 17.
He further said that neither the previous Congress governments nor the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi took any concrete steps to control pollution or improve the situation.
“Now when Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s administration is working systematically to improve the pollution scenario, AAP leaders – known for their misleading statements – are actively trying to worsen the situation,” he said.
–IANS
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