Delhi Chokes After Diwali, Political Blame Game Flares Over Farm Fires And Missing Data

A thick haze covered Delhi on Monday as pollution levels rose sharply after Diwali. The city’s overall AQI was 373 late Sunday, according to data available on the CPCB’s Sameer app, while eight monitoring locations recorded readings above 400.

The pollution spike set off a political exchange over farm fires, the government’s response and gaps in real-time monitoring data. BJP leaders accused the AAP government in Punjab of allowing stubble burning to worsen Delhi’s air. Congress and AAP leaders questioned the Delhi government’s pollution figures and the disappearance of readings from several monitors.

BJP Alleges Spike In Punjab Farm Fires Was Planned

Delhi minister and BJP leader Kapil Mishra alleged that stubble-burning incidents in Punjab rose sharply on Diwali and called for an investigation by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. He said he and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had received calls from farmers who claimed their fields were being set on fire while they celebrated at home.

Mishra said they checked satellite data made available to the Union government after the initial reports seemed difficult to believe. “The data proves that this was a premeditated move, and fields in Punjab were set on fire,” he said.

Citing the figures, Mishra claimed that fires were recorded at 125 locations on November 7 and 1,200 on November 8, Diwali. “How did it increase 10 times? … This is a really serious matter. This is a conspiracy against farmers, against Diwali, against Delhi, against Punjab,” he said.

He asked Mann to investigate the alleged fires and examine the phone records of AAP members from Delhi who were in Punjab. Mishra also claimed that a campaign had begun before Diwali to blame the BJP government for rising pollution.

BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal also accused the AAP of allowing stubble burning in Punjab to worsen Delhi’s air. He described it as a “well-thought-out conspiracy” and said the Congress and AAP had failed to address pollution during their years in power.

Congress Questions Gaps In Monitoring Data

Congress leader Pawan Khera said PM2.5 readings were unavailable at 25 of Delhi’s 39 monitoring stations between 2am and 3am on the night of November 8-9.

“Is the government suppressing the data? Were the monitors deliberately switched off? Or was the pollution so dangerously high that it exceeded the measuring capacity of the equipment?” Khera asked in a post on X. He said the Delhi government owed residents an explanation, adding that missing readings did not mean pollution had disappeared.

Readings from stations in R K Puram, Nehru Nagar, Mundka, Sonia Vihar and Dwarka were among those that became unavailable as pollution levels climbed, according to reports. R K Puram and Nehru Nagar had recorded high readings before their data stopped appearing.

Khera also cited a 2019 Supreme Court reprimand to the Centre and state governments over Delhi’s air pollution, asking why residents continued to be made to live in what the court had called a “gas chamber”.

AAP Alleges AQI Data Manipulation

AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP-led government of manipulating air-quality figures. He alleged that monitoring stations had been shut down, that 20 new stations were set up in green areas, and that water was being sprayed near monitors in polluted locations.

“The government’s data is based on fraud,” Bharadwaj said. “People simply do not trust the government’s AQI numbers; I certainly don’t.”

In a separate social media video, Bharadwaj claimed the AQI had crossed 3,000. That figure was not an official citywide reading.

Bhardwaj also questioned the Delhi government’s proposed cloud-seeding operations. The government had planned trials if pollution worsened after Diwali and Chhath Puja, and had conducted two trials in the preceding 15 days, including one near Delhi airport. Experts have cautioned that artificial rain may provide temporary relief but cannot address pollution sources.

BJP Says Opposition Is Politicising Festivals

Khandelwal accused the Congress and other Opposition parties of raising pollution concerns selectively during Hindu festivals.

“It has become a trend among the Congress and other Opposition parties to find faults with Sanatan festivals whenever they take place. They start talking about pollution,” he said.

He argued that the Congress and AAP had not taken adequate steps to tackle pollution during their respective tenures in Delhi. “The people of Delhi are bearing the consequences today,” he said.

The Commission for Air Quality Management had invoked Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan ahead of Diwali as a pre-emptive measure. The Supreme Court had allowed certified green firecrackers to be sold during a limited period and burst only during specified hours on November 7 and 8. A complete ban was due to return from November 9.