‘Staging drama now, did nothing for 11 years’: Sirsa slams AAP for air pollution protests

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa today blamed the Aam Aadmi Party for giving the national capital eleven years of polluted air. In a note shared by him, Sirsa launched a sharp attack on AAP for staging demonstrations against the deteriorating air quality in Delhi.

“For eleven years, Arvind Kejriwal kept serving up lies, lies, and more lies. Every year, he kept saying that the pollution would be fixed next year. Now they hide their faces behind masks. Can’t the people of Delhi see the real faces behind their masked mouths?” said Sirsa.

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#WATCH | Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa says, “They (AAP leaders, including Atishi) were hiding their faces. You have given Delhi eleven years of polluted air. For eleven years, Arvind Kejriwal kept serving up lies, lies, and more lies. Every year, he kept saying that the… pic.x.com/KzjZtNFrFH

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— ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2026

Yesterday, AAP MLAs, along with Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Atishi, held a protest within the Delhi Assembly premises, voicing their concerns over increasing air pollution in the national capital. The party has been raising an alarm to take urgent policy measures and hold accountable those responsible for worsening air quality.

Delhi Minister Sirsa dismissed the opposition’s protest as an act of achieving personal gains. He emphasised that AAP, which was in power for more than a decade here, has nothing to do with Delhi’s air quality at large.

He said, “These are the same people who occupied key positions as ministers during their 11 years in power, and all they have to show today is fear for their personal health, not any contribution to cleaning Delhi’s air,” Sirsa said.

He alleged that the leaders of the opposition parties are only interested in photo-ops, while the current government, led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, has achieved what they could not do in 11 years.

Sirsa referred to the protests as “AAP’s diversion tactics” to escape the discussion in the Vidhan Sabha on their failures and stay in the headlines. Sirsa confirmed that a discussion will be held on the pollution in the ongoing Winter Session. As per his note, CM has invited all the MLAs for this.

“This is the first time a government is itself saying, let’s debate pollution,” said the Minister.

He added, “Also, my colleague, Minister for Art & Culture Shri Kapil Mishra, had announced it publicly a few days ago. Yet, instead of engaging on facts, they are staging drama after drama to stay in the headlines, because they know they will be exposed,” Sirsa added.

Taking note of the government’s scientific approach, Sirsa reiterated that the BJP-led Delhi has achieved more ”Good Air Days’ and improved air quality as compared to the previous years.

“Under CM Rekha Gupta ji’s leadership, Delhi has registered more ‘Good Air Days’ and a measurable improvement in air quality compared to previous years. This is the result of sustained efforts and a scientific approach towards pollution control that our government has adopted,” the Minister said.