Delhi Air Pollution Latest News: As Delhi continues to reel under hazardous levels of air pollution, the politics over the national capital’s alarming level of air quality has also intensified with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) blaming Haryana for the pollution crisis. Citing Haryana’s close proximity to Delhi, AAP spokeswoman Priyanka Kakkar has suggested that stubble burning in the BJP-ruled neighbouring state has turned Delhi’s air poisonous.

Countering BJP’s claim that the incidents of stubble burning in Punjab are higher than Haryana, Kakkar said, “The stubble burning in Punjab is about 500 km away from here and the stubble burning in Haryana is 100 km away.”

She also called for an analysis of anti-pollution measures taken by the Manoharlal Khattar-led BJP government in Haryana since 2014.

“An analysis should be done on anti-pollution measures taken by the Khattar government in Haryana since 2014,” the AAP leader said at a press conference in Delhi.

Citing the Economic Survey 2022-23, she also claimed that air pollution in Delhi has decreased 31 per cent.

“In the Economic Survey 2022-23, the central government acknowledged that the air quality in Delhi has been the best in the last eight years. CAQM data also shows that there has been a 50-67 per cent reduction in stubbing burning in Punjab,” she added.

Responding to the AAP’s claim, the BJP hit back, saying “Kejriwal has polluted the politics.”

“Delhi has become a gas chamber because Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP has polluted the politics. Before coming to power in Punjab, Delhi CM used to say there was pollution because of stubble burning in Punjab…” news agency ANI quoted BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla as saying.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called a high-level meeting of his government officials at the Delhi Secretariat at 12 pm today. The meeting comes a day after the Centre imposed GRAP Stage IV measures in the national capital following a continuous “severe plus” levels of AQI.

According to the Delhi’s Early Warning System (EWS), the Air Quality Index in the national capital is likely to remain in the ‘severe’ category for the next couple of days.