New Delhi: Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab of misleading the public regarding stubble burning. Sirsa alleged that while the party publicly claimed there were no farm fires in the state this year, authorities had actually registered 271 first information reports against farmers.
According to Sirsa, the Punjab administration spent between 20 and 25 crore rupees on advertising campaigns to project that stubble burning had been entirely prevented. He stated that officials were aware of more than 1,000 stubble-burning incidents across the state, highlighting a sharp contradiction between the government's narrative and the legal actions taken on the ground.
Sirsa further criticized the party for denying that farm fires in Punjab contribute to Delhi's air pollution. He specifically targeted AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of taking revenge on Delhi and suggesting the party was unhappy with the improvements in the national capital's air quality under the BJP government.
Highlighting recent environmental data, Sirsa claimed that October 2026 was Delhi's cleanest October in a decade and noted that the city had recorded 220 clean-air days over the course of the year. He stated that Delhi's average Air Quality Index was roughly 10 percent lower than in previous years, crediting the progress to collaborative initiatives by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's administration and local residents. Representatives from the AAP did not immediately respond to the allegations.