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Air pollution may drive upcoming Delhi assembly polls
Kashmir Times. Dated: 11/11/2019 2:59:00 PM
NEW DELHI, Nov 10 (Agencies): While the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was earlier confident that their work in the city in the areas of health and education would be the driving force in the capital`s upcoming assembly polls, with the Delhi air quality deteriorating sharply, however, the opposition BJP and the Congress hope to make election capital out of the pollution issue.
The air pollution in the city became so toxic after Diwali festivities that the Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) had declared a public health emergency in the Delhi-NCR and had advised people, especially children and the aged, to limit their exposure to the environment.
While the AAP has blamed the stubble burning in neighbouring states for the high toxicity in the air, the opposition has blamed the ruling party for not taking concrete steps to control the air pollution.
The Delhi unit of the Congress party is reminding the people the steps taken by the previous Sheila Dikshit-led government in her 15-year term to control pollution.
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Subhash Chopra has blamed both the BJP at the Centre and the AAP in Delhi for the pollution.
He said air pollution is a 365-day problem, which is becoming a major public health emergency.
"The time has come when we have to fix accountability for this kind of situation which has arisen and is destroying right to life itself," he said.
Chopra also said that the AAP should come clean and inform the people about the steps it has taken to prevent pollution in Delhi, adding the "BJP government at Centre should have also sprung into action to deal with the crisis."
The Congress has already hit the streets and has started protests against the BJP and the AAP for air pollution. They held a demonstration outside the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as well, saying the severe pollution in Delhi is due to the inaction and failure of the AAP government and the BJP Government at the Centre and in the Municipal Corporations of Delhi.