On Friday, November 10, New Delhi witnessed a light spell of rain. This brought some relief for residents from the hazardous pollution they had been experiencing for over a week, as the toxic haze cleared up and the air quality improved marginally.
The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, which has only engaged in finger-pointing rather than taking practical action to address the rise in pollution levels, welcomed the unanticipated bout of rain. Somnath Bharti, the party MLA, immediately took to social media to thank god for doing what the Kejriwal govt couldn’t – bring down, even if temporarily, the pollution level in the national capital.
The rains come amid the Delhi government’s ongoing discussions with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to conduct artificial rains across the national capital to combat the deteriorating air quality. But this project too, just like all the other empty promises, probably looked implausible to Somnath Bharti. That’s why he appeared so thrilled when it rained last night—he knew deep down that the rain would hide the inability of his government to handle such a serious situation. He took to X to thank the ‘God sent rain’ to tackle the situation which otherwise is the responsibility of the AAP government.
“And rain starts in Delhi…..and it’s not the artificial rain which Delhi CM Sri @ArvindKejriwal Ji promised and Delhi is yet to witness but it’s God sent rain. God has always been with Arvind Ji and @AamAadmiParty. Thx God,” the AAP MLA posted on Friday, November 10.
And rain starts in Delhi…..and it's not the artificial rain which Delhi CM Sri @ArvindKejriwal Ji promised and Delhi is yet to witness but it's God sent rain. God has always been with Arvind Ji and @AamAadmiParty.
— Adv. Somnath Bharti: इंसानियत से बड़ा कुछ नहीं! (@attorneybharti) November 9, 2023
Thx God.
Netizens were, however, quick to respond to the AAP MLA’s post. Mocking the AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal, several asserted that Delhi has been functioning on God’s mercy ever since AAP took power.
“As you rightly pointed out, Bharti ji, Delhi’s residents are living under the faith of God since there is no such thing as government here,” an X user Ajay Mathur wrote.
Sahi kaha bharti ji delhi wale toh bhagwan ke bharose hi ji rahi hai kyo ki sarkar name ki to koi cheese nahi hai delhi mai.
— Ajay Mathur (@AjayMat11553187) November 10, 2023
A BJP and RSS member going by the handle @Gauravbjpdelhi1 criticized the AAP government, claiming that only God could save the people of Delhi given the pitiful state the city has been in under their rule. “Lord Ram appeared on this earth to safeguard the righteousness and annihilate the evil, by killing the demon Ravan, likewise, to destroy y’all God will send somebody,” he retorted.
Hmmm. Ye sabko pata h Delhi ki jo halaat tum logo ne ki hai uske liye ab bhagwaan ko hi aana padega theek karne.
— Gaurav (@Gauravbjpdelhi1) November 9, 2023
Rawan k sarvnaash ke liye raam ji hi aaye they.
Tumhare liye b koi aayega.
“God realised that He cannot leave Delhites & NorthIndians on mercy of ‘Nakara aur Jhute’ AAP CMs of Delhi & Punjab….”, @ShalabhPB wrote. The X user slammed the Arvind Kejriwal party and said that their pot of sin is full. He also asked how long they planned to do nothing and rely on God to perform miracles.
God realised that He cannot leave Delhites &NorthIndians on mercy of 'Nakara aur Jhute' AAP CMs of Delhi & Punjab….'PAAP ka ghada bhar gaya'…. 'Kab tak Bhagwan bharose rahoge' @ArvindKejriwal @AamAadmiParty
— Shalabh Prakash (@ShalabhPB) November 9, 2023
One X user took a dig at the AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal for his alleged involvement in the Delhi Liquor scam case and said that the same God is arranging for his arrest and that he shouldn’t hold the Modi government accountable for it when it occurs.
“Same God is making arrangements of his arrest. Don’t blame Modi ji that time,” wrote X user @Pushkar81Singh.
Same God is making arrangements of his arrest. Don’t blame Modi ji that time
— PUSHKAR SINGH (@Pushkar81Singh) November 10, 2023
AAP and its drama on pollution in Delhi
The Arvind Kejriwal government has been only playing the blame game instead of taking any concrete steps to curtail the pollution issue in New Delhi. Even as AAP is the ruling dispensation in both, Punjab – where stubble burning is at its peak, and in Delhi – where AQI currently stands at 426, it has time and again been attacking the BJP-ruled Haryana government and indulging in a political war of words.
On Friday (3rd November), when Anand Vihar’s AQI at night touched 999 making it extremely hazardous, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that BS3 petrol and BS4 diesel vehicles coming from Uttar Pradesh have been contributing to the deterioration of the air quality index in the national capital.
Similarly, on 6th November, Aam Aadmi Party’s Chief National Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar accused Haryana of the alarmingly bad air quality in Delhi.
She further asserted that there has been a reduction in stubble burning in Punjab, and the stubble being burnt in Punjab is not affecting Delhi as it is 500 KM away. However, Haryana, which is close to Delhi, is burning stubble only 100 KM away. Accusing the Khattar government of not taking any steps to reduce pollution, she added that the Haryana government had not formulated the plan to buy 100 EV buses. Furthermore, the buses that enter Delhi from Haryana run on fuel banned in Delhi.
She also claimed that the Haryana government is not supporting the industries so that they can shift to cleaner fuel like Delhi. In a nutshell, she tried to throw BJP-ruled Haryana under the bus for the pollution in Delhi’s air.
Continuing to peddle the same rhetorics, AAP posted a graph image on November 9 to claim that stubble-burning incidents in Punjab have reduced by 55 per cent in 2022-23.
Stubble Burning incidents in Punjab🔥📉
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) November 9, 2023
Reduction in 2022-2023:
⚡ 55%⚡ pic.twitter.com/EXDjJ1LaY7
Notably, Punjab has reportedly recorded 65.6 per cent of farm fires as compared to Haryana which has recorded 5.3 per cent of farm fires. The BJP-ruled state has taken strict action against individuals responsible for farm fires.
In fact, on November 9, OpIndia in its report attached the satellite imagery from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) showing Punjab covered in red dots signifying the severe levels of farm fires in the state whereas the same in Haryana appeared significantly lower.
Yet, the Aam Aadmi Party has accused the Haryana government for the dangerous Air Quality Index (AQI) levels in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
