Addressing a press conference with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Kejriwal said there was no stubble burning in Punjab, claiming that the AQI across the cities of the state ranged between 70 and 100.
Arvind Kejriwal
A day after Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of deliberately burning waste to add to the air pollution in the national capital, former Delhi CM and AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday hit back at the Rekha Gupta-led BJP government, asserting that the air pollution crisis in Delhi is homegrown.
Addressing a press conference with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Kejriwal said there was no stubble burning in Punjab, claiming that the AQI across the cities of the state ranged between 70 and 100. “It was earlier said that the pollution in Delhi was due to stubble burning in Punjab. But now, across the cities in Punjab, the AQI is between 70 and 100. So, if there is no smog in Punjab, there is no stubble burning in Punjab, so whatever pollution is at present in Delhi is its own,” he added.
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The former Delhi chief minister stated that the AAP government had implemented strict anti-pollution measures, despite the city never experiencing such severe air pollution during his party’s 10-year rule. “Today, the situation is such that the BJP government is busy even managing the official AQI,” he maintained.
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Kejriwal also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “In a country where the capital turns into a gas chamber, the prime minister has no concern for pollution at all, how can clean air be obtained?”
He also accused the Rekha Gupta government of fudging the AQI data by sprinkling water near AQI monitoring centres. “The official AQI is manipulated because they are sprinkling water near AQI meters. Despite the fact that the AQI is crossing 400 or 450. The real AQI might be above 700-800,” he claimed.
प्रधानमंत्री ओमान में, LoP जर्मनी में और देश की राजधानी दिल्ली प्रदूषण में‼️
पंजाब में इस समय कहीं भी पराली नहीं जल रही है लेकिन दिल्ली में भयंकर प्रदूषण है। यह बताता है कि दिल्ली में प्रदूषण ख़ुद की वजह से है।
हमारी सरकार के दौरान प्रदूषण का इतना बुरा हाल नहीं था। लेकिन अब… pic.x.com/dbYGjhFjof
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) December 18, 2025
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, Delhi’s AQI on Thursday stood at 373 in the “very poor” category, up from 334 on Wednesday.
Kejriwal said that the delayed GRAP Stage IV implementation was one of the key reasons for the worsening air quality in the city. “For many days, the GRAP Stage IV was not allowed to be implemented. It was implemented recently. But construction work was still underway in Delhi. GRAP Stage IV was only implemented on paper,” he added.
His remarks came a day after Delhi Environment Minister Sirsa accused the AAP of deliberately burning waste to increase air pollution in the national capital. “I have to say this with regret that AAP is deliberately burning waste to create pollution. They are burning waste, and they are praying that the AQI should increase. They don’t care about the people of Delhi. They should not resort to such dirty politics,” he alleged.
He requested Kejriwal with “folded hands” not to indulge in such dirty politics. “I request Arvind Kejriwal with folded hands, please don’t do such dirty politics. Your children also live in Delhi. Don’t do this for your own people,” Sirsa added.
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