Stepping up his attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said on Thursday that the ruling dispensation’s “inaction” is pushing pollution to dangerous levels in the national capital.

He demanded the resignation of Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai over the deteriorating air quality in the city.

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Talking to reporters at the Kartavya Path, Sachdeva said due to the “inaction” of Arvind Kejriwal and the Atishi Government, pollution in Delhi today is worse than in the surrounding areas with Air Quality Index (AQI) even at a sanitised area like Kartavya Path is exceeding 450.

“Although the smoke from stubble burning in Punjab is choking the people of all of North India, the inaction of the local Kejriwal-Atishi government in Delhi, coupled with broken roads and unchecked construction activities, is pushing the pollution to dangerous levels,” he said.

Taking a jibe at Delhi Environment Minister Rai, the Delhi BJP chief noted that a month back, when Delhi’s AQI was around 200, he was highlighting the poor state of the roads and inspecting construction sites to impose fines. Now, he is neither seen inspecting the sites nor are his announced water sprinklers and smog guns functioning.

Sachdeva stated that the people of Delhi understood that if Chief Minister Atishi and Rai had coordinated with their AAP government in Punjab to prevent stubble burning, pollution levels would have been under control not only in Delhi but throughout North India.

Referring to the upcoming 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, he added, “Gopal Rai is an unsuccessful environment minister, hence the residents of Delhi want his resignation. Whether he resigns today or not, the people of Delhi will ensure his entire government is shunted out of Delhi in February.”