The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged a loud demonstration outside the Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday, voicing its anger over the deteriorating air quality in the national capital. The protest, which saw party leaders and MLAs beating plates and spoons, culminated in the detention of several AAP figures by the Delhi Police.
Symbolic Protest and Police Detention
Led by AAP's Delhi State President, Saurabh Bharadwaj, the gathering used thalis and spoons to create a cacophony, echoing a symbolic act from the pandemic era. The protesters raised slogans like "Pollution, Tumko Jana Padega Bhai" to highlight the severe pollution crisis. Bharadwaj explained that just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had once urged citizens to bang plates to drive away the coronavirus, they were doing the same to demand that pollution leaves Delhi.
The symbolic act, however, led to a confrontation with law enforcement. Police personnel intervened and detained multiple AAP leaders present at the site to clear the area outside the Secretariat.
Serious Allegations of Data Manipulation
Addressing the media, Saurabh Bharadwaj launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led system, accusing it of inaction and manipulation. He claimed that instead of implementing concrete measures to curb pollution, the authorities were fudging data from AQI monitoring stations.
"The entire Delhi is crying out due to pollution, but even GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) restrictions are not being implemented," Bharadwaj stated. He alleged that water was being sprayed near monitoring stations to artificially improve readings and that new stations were being installed in forest areas to show better air quality data, misleading the public.
Questions for BJP and Impact on Public Health
Bharadwaj directly questioned BJP's Environment Minister, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, about the promised measure of artificial rain. "He had spoken about conducting artificial rain, but till now, where is it?" he asked, pointing to unfulfilled commitments.
He emphasized the grave health emergency, particularly for vulnerable groups. "For children and the elderly, this is nothing less than a medical emergency. Hospitals are full of patients," Bharadwaj said. He also shared poignant posts on social media platform X, including a global AQI map and a video of an animal suffering, to underscore that the pollution crisis was affecting all living beings silently.
The protest underscores the escalating political tension and public concern over Delhi's perennial pollution problem, with the AAP positioning itself as the primary opposition voice demanding accountability and urgent action from the ruling dispensation.
