Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday mocked at Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta over what he called a ‘gaffe’ on AQI during an interview. Kejriwal claimed that his successor had “admitted” that water is being sprayed at the AQI monitors to keep the reading down.
Rekha Gupta, while answering a question on Delhi pollution, referred to AQI as a "temperature". She compared the AQI readings with temperature, saying watering was the only solution."Does using a monitor bring down the AQI? AQI is like a temperature which you can know from any instrument, so watering it is the only solution which we are also doing," she had added.
Taking a jibe at her, Kejriwal wrote on X: "Pehli baat - Mukhyamatri ji ne ye toh sweekar kar liya ki jahan jahan AQI monitor lage hain, wahin pani ka chhidkaav karaya ja raha hai, taaki Delhi ke logon tak pradushan ka sach na pahunch paye. Yani aankado ko chhupakar 'hawa saaf' dikhane ka khel chal raha hai." (First thing, CM has accepted that wherever AQI monitors are installed, water is being sprayed there so that the truth about pollution doesn't reach the people of Delhi.)
He continued, "Doosri baat - ye naya vigyan kab aya ki AQI ab temperature ban gaya?" (Second thing - when did this new science come about that AQI has now become temperature?)Gupta, during the interview, had defended the sprinkling of water at identified hotspots."So you will spray (water) at a hotspot. Does spraying water on a monitor bring down the AQI," she asked, before continuing, "AQI ek aisa temperature hai, jo kisi bhi instrument se pata chalta hai. Toh usme watering is the only solution. Jo hum kar rahe hai, jo pichli sarkare bhi karti thi, aur wo hotspot pe hi hota hai jahan sabse zyada pollution hoga, wahi toh aap safai karenge."
The Chief Minister's comments have triggered a fresh war of words at a time when the Capital remains shrouded in smog and pollutants. BJP government has come under fire for its methods to tackle rising AQI in the national capital after several videos on social media claimed to show water being sprayed near AQI monitors to keep the readings in check.
On Tuesday morning, Delhi recorded an overall AQI of 292 ('poor'), with several pockets slipping into the 'very poor' category, including readings of 319 at Akshardham, Ghazipur and Anand Vihar.
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