New Delhi Oct 22 (UNI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has levelled serious allegations against the union government, claiming it manipulated air quality data of Delhi’s Diwali night to hide the true severity of pollution.
AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj, addressing a press conference, stated that multiple pollution monitoring stations operated by various central and city agencies were shut down as pollution levels spiked. He alleged that this was done to present a false lower than actual Air Quality Index (AQI) to the public.
Bharadwaj claimed that while the official readings showed an AQI around 350, the actual readings at some stations, like Nehru Nagar, had touched 1763. He stated that dozens of stations run by the Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi Pollution Control Committee(DPCC), India Meteorological Department(IMD), and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology(IITM) went offline simultaneously and only resumed operations the next morning after winds had dispersed some of the pollution.
The AAP leader called this “data theft at a government level” and a criminal offence that endangered public health. He argued that by showing a lower than actual AQI, the government misled citizens into believing the air was safe for activities like morning walks, while the reality was far more hazardous. Bharadwaj also asserted that the data manipulation constitutes contempt of the Supreme Court, which has directed for accurate pollution monitoring. He questioned why the Commission for Air Quality Management has not implemented Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan, which is mandated when the AQI crosses 350.
On the issue of stubble burning, the AAP leader strongly criticised a BJP minister for suggesting that farmers in Punjab deliberately burned crop residue on Diwali to defame the Hindu festival. He demanded an apology to the Sikh community, calling the remark “shameful.” Citing data, Bharadwaj said Punjab has reduced stubble burning cases by over 90 per cent since 2021. He further referenced experts from the Centre for Science and Environment(CSE) and other scientists who have stated that the combined contribution of farm fires from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh to Delhi’s pollution is barely 1 per cent.
He concluded by labelling the central government as “not only incompetent, but dishonest and deceitful,” accusing it of lying to citizens and wrongly blaming Punjabis to hide its own failures. The central government has not yet issued an official response to these allegations.
