Delhi woke up to a blanket of thick smog and poor visibility on Tuesday morning, just hours after Diwali celebrations filled the sky with fireworks. With the Air Quality Index (AQI) slipping into the ‘very poor’ category, the capital once again found itself trapped in a haze of both pollution and politics.
As air quality plummeted, a fierce blame game erupted between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), each accusing the other of deepening Delhi’s worsening toxic air crisis.
According to a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin, 35 out of the 38 monitoring stations were in the ‘red zone’, indicating ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ air quality after many celebrated Diwali last night by bursting firecrackers beyond the two-hour limit set by the Supreme Court.
BJP Hits Out At AAP Over Stubble Burning
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya blamed AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal for failing to address stubble burning in Punjab, where AAP governs.
“Unless Arvind Kejriwal–ruled Punjab stops burning stubble, Delhi and NCR will continue to choke. Stop blaming Deepawali for the sins of the Aam Aadmi Party — it’s their smoke, not the festival’s lamps or firecrackers, that darkens Delhi’s skies,” Malviya posted on X.
Meanwhile, Delhi Minister Ashish Sood also asserted that “firecrackers alone are not responsible for pollution in Delhi”.
“The AQI in Anand Vihar at around 5 AM was 943 and 390 in Shahdara. Only firecrackers are not responsible for pollution in Delhi. However, I believe people should have followed the SC’s order to burst crackers before 10 PM. Delhi has no weather of its own; many factors determine the weather and pollution levels here, and adjacent states also have a role to play,” he said.
BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal also hit out at AAP over the air pollution in the national capital, saying,”The pollution level today is lower than what it was during AAP’s 10 years in power. They did nothing, and hence Delhi is paying the price. Within one year, we will ensure a clean environment in Delhi.”
AAP Counters With Sharp Attack On BJP Govt
In a sharp rebuttal, Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj turned the spotlight on the Delhi government, accusing it of making false promises about tackling post-Diwali pollution. He questioned the administration’s failure to implement artificial rain, which leaders had earlier claimed would help improve the city’s air.
“The government lies. The government said that after Diwali, we would fix all the pollution by conducting artificial rain. Did artificial rain happen? No, my question is that if you could have conducted artificial rain, then why didn’t you do it? Do you (the government) want people to fall ill. The government has a collusion with private hospitals,” Bharadwaj told news agency ANI.
AAP leader Gopal Rai also slammed the BJP-led government for blaming the neighbouring states for the pollution in Delhi.
VIDEO | Delhi: “BJP govt is blaming neighbouring states for Delhi’s pollution, despite being in power,” says AAP leader Gopal Rai.
Delhi residents woke up on Tuesday to heavy grey haze darkening the city skies, reduced visibility and the air quality in the ‘red zone’ after many… pic.twitter.com/y4WdpUvf8p
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 21, 2025
How Congress, TMC Reacted
Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose took a more introspective stance, urging Delhi residents to take responsibility for their own contribution to the pollution crisis.
“Toxic smoke across Delhi this morning. Over 200,000 in Delhi have been rushed to hospital with emergency ARI (Acute Respiratory Illness) in the last year. We must collectively ask ourselves & introspect why we voluntarily choose to harm our own health,” Ghose posted on X.
Congress leader Udit Raj also questioned how stubble burning in Punjab can affect Delhi’s AQI in one day.
“How is it that stubble burning in Punjab affected the AQI in just one day? The government started framing it as an issue against the festival, which led the Supreme Court to lift the ban on crackers. Firecrackers have caused serious environmental damage, and their sale was massive this year,” he remarked.
According to the CPCB bulletin, Delhi’s AQI stood at 359, in the ‘very poor’ category, at 11 am. It was 352 at 8 am, 346 at 5 am, 347 at 6 am and 351 at 7 am.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
