AAP accuses BJP of defaming Punjab farmers over stubble burning
The Aam Aadmi Party claims the BJP is using pollution allegations to hide administrative failures in Delhi.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the BJP on Monday of targeting and defaming Punjab farmers to divert attention from administrative failures regarding Delhi's pollution crisis, according to reports by Hindustan Times, Economic Times and Deccan Herald.
AAP Punjab media in-charge Baltej Pannu alleged that BJP leaders have been making baseless allegations to cover up the gas chamber-like conditions in Delhi during Diwali. Pannu claimed Punjab has achieved nearly 90 per cent control over stubble burning incidents this year, compared to an 80 per cent reduction recorded last year.
Delhi minister Kapil Mishra alleged a suspicious spike in stubble-burning incidents in Punjab on Diwali. Mishra claimed his office received calls from Punjab where farmers alleged their fields were deliberately set on fire while they celebrated the festival. He called for an investigation into 1,200 fires and urged Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to file FIRs.
Official data reported by the Economic Times shows Punjab witnessed 1,152 farm fires across the state on Diwali, marking the sharpest single-day spike this season.
AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj responded by accusing the BJP government in Delhi of data manipulation. Bharadwaj alleged the government is installing monitoring stations in green areas and sprinkling water near them to lower readings. He also claimed the government shuts down air quality monitoring stations on the night of Diwali.