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NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday criticised Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, saying that it is not appropriate to mock anyone taking a “Vipassana,” despite both of them having political differences over the handling of the pollution crisis in the national capital region. “You (Rekha Gupta) harbor political enmity towards me. Due to this, it does not behove you to mock the divine Vipassana meditation method taught by Lord Buddha in this manner. You too should certainly try Vipassana once. You will like it a lot, and you will experience boundless peace. Going to do Vipassana is not called “running away.” Only those with great fortune are blessed with Vipassana,” Kejriwal wrote on X, replying to an earlier post by CM Gupta.The AAP leader’s comments come a day after CM Gupta alleged that while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are trying to fight pollution by staying in Delhi, Kejriwal simply abandons Delhi by taking a Vipassana every six months.”We are finding solutions to the pollution problem in Delhi by living in Delhi itself. We are not like them who abandon Delhi to its fate and run off for Vipassana every 6 months. My Delhi, My Responsibility-we are working with this sentiment. The problem is here too, and the solution will also emerge from here…for Delhi, by staying in Delhi,” the Delhi CM said. Meanwhile, AAP’s Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj also hit out at the Delhi government for the illnesses people are getting due to increased pollution. He criticised CM Rekha Gupta over the worsening air quality in the national capital, stating that she is unaware of the air quality index (AQI) and its parameters, adding that she must leave the pollution problem for the experts to deal with.Speaking to ANI, Bharadwaj said, “This government has been in power for almost a year. Nowhere in this country are there incidents of stubble burning. The condition of pollution is that even inside a closed room, we can see smog. The CM of Delhi doesn’t know what AQI is? She says any instrument can measure AQI. She can’t even properly pronounce AQI. What will the people of Delhi expect from the chief minister for the next 4 years?””I think experts should come in front and the Chief Minister should take a step back,” he added.Residents of Delhi on Sunday expressed deep concern over deteriorating air quality as the city’s AQI surged to 497, remaining in the ‘severe’ category, according to the central pollution control board (CPCB).In response to the severe pollution, the Delhi Government’s Directorate of Education on Saturday directed that schools conduct classes for grades IX and XI in hybrid mode. This decision followed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoking Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) as AQI levels approached the ‘severe’ mark.
