A member of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Amit Malviya, accused Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal of being responsible for the poor air quality across northern India, including the capital New Delhi.
In particular, Malviya blamed Kejriwal's failure to deal with stubble burning for the high levels of air pollution.
“1,019 instances of farm fires in AAP run Punjab on the day of Diwali is the reason for poor air quality in not just Delhi but whole of north India. Arvind Kejriwal failed farmers of Punjab, who were expecting 1,000 per acre for their Parali [stubble burning]. Don’t blame Diwali, blame Kejriwal…” the BJP politician tweeted.
Earlier, due to the rising pollution levels in Delhi and neighboring cities, the authorities extended the ban on the production, sale, and use of fireworks completely across Delhi-NCR until January 2023.
The ban has left Delhi residents without the traditional fun of setting off firecrackers on Diwali, India's most anticipated holiday. However, many revelers decided to defy the law so as not to abandon their precious tradition, as firecrackers were heard going off around the capital
In a defiant move, Malviya posted a video of himself setting off fireworks on Diwali, attaching a caption reading, "there is no Diwali without crackers."
To illustrate his point, the BJP politician also shared a real-time stubble burning monitoring chart between October 15 and 24, which showed that Punjab topped the list with 1,019 farm fires on Diwali alone, arguing that Delhi authorities should change their target from firecrackers to farms.
The practice of stubble burning, or Parali, has been identified as one of the main environmental hazards in India's northern regions, which is why the National Green Tribunal has banned stubble burning. However, farmers continue to do so in order to clear their fields for the next planting season.