Delhi CM Rekha Gupta Slams AAP Over Pollution Allegations, Says Data ‘Cannot Be Tampered With’

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), asserting that pollution data cannot be manipulated. Taking a swipe at the opposition, she advised the “unemployed” AAP leaders to “stick to singing songs” instead of making baseless allegations.

Her remarks came in response to AAP’s criticism of the government’s cloud seeding trials and its accusations that the BJP-led Delhi government had shut down pollution monitoring stations and altered Air Quality Index (AQI) data on Diwali night to hide the true pollution levels.

“There is something wrong with the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) thinking. The problem with the AAP is that if AQI goes down, they will say the data is fudged. If the AQI increases, how is it increasing? It is not our job to answer their nuisance. We are working honestly to address the pollution problem in Delhi,” Gupta told reporters on the sidelines of an event for retailers.

Reiterating that AQI data cannot be manipulated, she said, “Anyone can get the AQI of a particular location while standing there.”

Taking further jabs at the opposition, Gupta added, “AAP has a problem. They are wondering how the results will be visible in eight months (of the BJP government coming to power). AAP is unemployed. They were singing a song that day, so they should start doing something like that and stop bothering people. They will keep on misguiding people and making nonsensical statements.”

The AAP had recently shared a video of its leaders, including Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, singing ‘Barsaat bhi aake chali gayi’ to mock the government’s cloud seeding efforts, which failed to bring rain to the national capital.

The party also criticised the government over Chhath Puja arrangements, alleging that a “fake” Yamuna ghat had been prepared with filtered water.

Responding to these charges, Gupta said, “They should be happy with progress. The people from Purvanchal were happy with the Chhath celebrations, but the AAP indulged in drama. There is no end to their drama, and we do not want to comment on it.”

With PTI inputs