NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday attacked the AAP and the BJP over air pollution in the capital, saying that while it had made Delhi a global green city five years ago, the power tussle between the city and the Central government had turned it into the world's most polluted metro.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said Delhi was recognised as the world's greenest capital in 2013 under then chief minister Sheila Dikshit, when its forest cover had gone up by 22 per cent and the local transport system was completely shifted to green fuel CNG, prompting the UN to take note of it.
"The BJP and Aam Aadmi Party are only interested in scoring political points and one-upmanship. We saw the sheer blame game on pollution last year. We have been witnessing how both parties indulge in hollow rhetoric without concrete action against air pollution," said Singhvi.
"It is because of this mis-governance that people of Delhi are suffering. It is because of this that Delhi, which was rated as the greenest capital in 2013, is the most polluted mega city in just five years," he said.
The Congress leader pointed out that the people of Delhi had lost all hope in AAP or BJP as they were only interested in short-term piecemeal measures which they could advertise and earn cheap political brownie points, instead of taking concrete long-term effective measures to counter the dreaded pollution season.
The Congress leader said the sparring between the Modi government at the Centre and the AAP government in Delhi and their lack of political will to fight the 'the great smog of India' was squarely responsible for the health hazard being faced by the residents of the NCR.
Giving a political twist to the role of stubble burning contributing to high pollution in Delhi, the Congress leader claimed that while Congress-ruled Punjab had reduced it by 72 per cent, BJP-ruled Haryana and AAP-ruled Delhi were witnessing more such activity.
The Congress leader said that even in BJP-ruled UP, several important cities were rated as the most polluted globally.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who creates much hype and hoopla over 'Swachh Bharat Mission', is absolutely silent on the fact that Varanasi, his constituency along with Delhi, Agra, Lucknow and Kanpur are now amongst the most polluted cities in the world," said Singhvi.