The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday accused the BJP-led Delhi government of manipulating air quality data and demanded legal action against Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, alleging large-scale data fraud amid worsening pollution in the national capital.
The party also announced a social media campaign to raise awareness about air pollution and the alleged manipulation of monitoring data, saying many vulnerable people may not be able to participate in physical protests. AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that air quality monitoring stations were being sprinkled with water to manipulate pollution readings, citing the Jahangirpuri station, located in one of the most polluted areas of the city.
Bharadwaj said the party had repeatedly raised the issue with Gupta and Sirsa but alleged that they had avoided addressing its concerns. “I and several AAP leaders and councillors have posted on X that the AQI monitoring station in Jahangirpuri, one of the most polluted areas, is being sprinkled with water,” he said. In his letter to the CPCB, Bharadwaj said millions of vulnerable people, including severe asthmatics, COPD patients, pregnant women, senior citizens and young children, rely on official AQI readings to make crucial decisions about their daily activities. “When the Delhi government publishes fabricated, lower AQI data, vulnerable patients are tricked into a false sense of security,” he alleged, claiming that such readings could lead people to venture outdoors or skip necessary medical precautions, exposing them to hazardous pollutants. Bharadwaj said the party had expected pollution management to improve during the second year of the BJP government’s tenure but claimed that little had changed.
