The political battle over Delhi’s worsening air quality intensified on Thursday after Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood launched a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing them of turning pollution control into a publicity exercise rather than delivering real solutions.
Addressing the media, Sood mocked what he called the “so-called scientific methods” introduced by the previous AAP government to tackle air pollution. He said that repeated reliance on the odd-even traffic scheme showed a lack of serious planning, recalling that even the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had questioned the government’s approach. According to Sood, the NGT had observed that despite having multiple options, the Kejriwal government consistently fell back on odd-even without addressing structural causes.
The Home Minister also criticised other measures such as asking motorists to switch engines on and off at traffic signals, describing them as headline-grabbing moves with little long-term impact. He alleged that pollution in Delhi was used as a political tool to strengthen AAP’s narrative rather than to protect public health.
Sood said the BJP-led administration does not want to politicise the air children breathe, but added that intent matters more than announcements. He argued that if the AAP government had been serious, it would have focused on fixing Delhi’s transport infrastructure, improving waste management, and ensuring proper last-mile connectivity.
Taking aim at claims that dust is a major contributor to pollution, Sood said that even basic steps like large-scale deployment of mechanical sweeping machines were ignored. He also accused the previous government of blocking or delaying central projects aimed at improving public transport, including the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) and multiple phases of the Delhi Metro.
Highlighting financial priorities, Sood alleged that while funds were cited as a constraint for improving public transport, substantial money was spent on advertisements instead. He said this criticism was not political but echoed observations made by the Supreme Court.
