The Delhi BJP on Friday accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of indulging in "political tourism" at a time when the city residents are facing severe air pollution.\
The "inaction and insensitivity" of the Kejriwal government has turned Delhi into a "gas chamber", said Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva.
There was no immediate reaction from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which is in power in the national capital.
"The AQI has reached 700 in Anand Vihar. Yesterday alone there were around 1,600 incidents of parali (paddy stubble) burning in Punjab. The next 48 hours are going to be very dreadful for Delhi," Sachdeva said in a statement.
Sachdeva asked the Delhi chief minister about the status of smog towers, air purifiers, and water sprinklers to control the rising pollution.
"Unfortunately, Kejriwal is busy with political tourism and there is no one to control air pollution. Delhiites are complaining of itching and breathlessness and children are falling ill. Only Kejriwal is responsible for all this," Sachdeva said.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said because of the heavy pollution, people are falling ill if they venture out and the average life expectancy of residents of the national capital is getting reduced by nearly 12 years.
"Indifferent to all this, Kejriwal is busy with political tourism leaving people behind to fend for themselves," he alleged.
Delhi BJP secretary Harish Khurana said Kejriwal should ask the Punjab chief minister, where the AAP is in power, to check the incidents of stubble burning there which are on the rise.
Khurana said there were more farm fires in Punjab on November 1 than Haryana's tally for the entire month of October. Haryana has a BJP-led coalition government.
There were 1,296 incidents of stubble-burning in Haryana in October while there were 1,921 incidents of farm fires in Punjab on November 1, he claimed.
Delhi's air quality plummeted to the "severe plus" category on Friday morning, a stage at which all emergency measures, including a ban on polluting trucks, commercial four-wheelers, and all types of construction, are mandated to be initiated and enforced in the National Capital Region.
The city's AQI rose from 351 at 10 am on Thursday to 471 at 9 am on Friday.
