Kapil Mishra seeks probe into Punjab stubble burning spike on Diwali
The Delhi Minister alleged a conspiracy against farmers and the festival after stubble burning incidents rose sharply in Punjab.
Delhi Minister and BJP leader Kapil Mishra on Monday alleged that approximately 1,200 incidents of stubble burning occurred in Punjab on Sunday, the day of Diwali. According to The News Mill, Mishra described the rise in fires as a conspiracy against farmers and the festival.
Mishra claimed that satellite data showed stubble burning at 125 locations on November 7, which then increased to 1,200 locations on November 8. He urged Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to investigate the matter, file First Information Reports (FIRs), and check the phone records of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members from Delhi who are in Punjab.
The minister stated that his office received calls from farmers in Punjab claiming their fields were being deliberately set on fire while they celebrated the festival. He alleged that the data proves a premeditated move to defame the farmers and the festival.
According to ThePrint, official data reported 1,152 farm fires across Punjab on Diwali, marking the state's sharpest single-day spike this season. Mishra also claimed that the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Sangrur recorded 1,651 in the early hours of Monday.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) reported that as of November 8, a total of 4,459 stubble burning incidents were recorded in the state. Physical inspections confirmed evidence of burning at 1,310 locations.
The CAQM has registered FIRs in 884 cases under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and initiated prosecution proceedings against 18 nodal officers under Section 14 of the CAQM Act.