New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta will distribute free LPG cylinders to eligible families on Tuesday, with the grant amount being transferred directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
Food and Supplies Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa will also attend the event, an official statement said.
Earlier, spokespersons for the ruling BJP hit out at the AAP for doing politics over stubble burning incidents in Punjab and deterioration in air quality in north India.
Delhi BJP Spokespersons Anil Gupta and Praveen Shankar Kapoor stated that there was no unprecedented rise in air pollution in Delhi on the morning following Diwali, clearly indicating that firecrackers cannot be held responsible for the increase in air pollution in the national capital.
Blaming firecrackers for rising air pollution, as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress are doing, is a direct attack on the religious sentiments and faith of Hindus who traditionally celebrate Diwali by bursting firecrackers, said Kapoor.
The Delhi BJP Spokespersons stated that, according to Central Pollution Control Board data, despite various administrative restrictions, the AQI on the morning following Diwali during the Arvind Kejriwal government was 358 on November 13, 2023, and 341 on November 1, 2024.
Despite considerable relaxation in restrictions on firecrackers this year, the AQI reached 368, while it stood at 364 on the morning of November 8, Diwali day. This clearly indicates that firecrackers did not cause any unprecedented rise in the AQI.
Every year, the Centre government gives crores of rupees to the Punjab government for managing stubble burning, but where do the funds go? asked Kapoor.
“Today, Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra revealed how people associated with the AAP are allegedly setting fire to agricultural fields in Punjab as part of a conspiracy. The AAP government has been in power in Punjab since 2022, yet it has made no concrete efforts to prevent stubble burning,” he said.
The Delhi BJP Spokespersons stated that a comparison of AQI data from 2023 and 2024 with the current figures for 2026 clearly establishes that toxic air originating from stubble burning in Punjab is choking Delhi, and the AAP’s conspiracy is responsible for the situation this year.
–IANS
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