"Destroyed Delhi in 10 years," Delhi Minister Manjinder Sirsa slams AAP, lauds own govt for progress

New Delhi [India], October 22 (ANI): Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused opposition parties of looting and ruining the city over the past decade. In an interview with ANI, Sirsa stated that these parties are feeling jealous as the city is gradually experiencing improvements.
"Look, they will obviously play the blame game they're in the opposition. They were in power for 10 years. And in those 10 years, they destroyed Delhi. They ruined it, looted it, crushed it. Now that they see Delhi improving, it's natural they feel a stomach ache (out of jealousy)," said Sirsa
Additonally, Sirsa outlined several measures taken by the Delhi government over the past seven months. He stated that approximately 2.5 million metric tonnes of waste have been removed from the national capital, and around 6,000 industries have been brought into compliance with pollution control norms.
"In the last seven months, under Rekha Gupta ji's government, 2.5 million metric tonnes of waste have been removed from Delhi. Around 15,000 industries in resettlement colonies were regularised but never brought under pollution norms. Out of those, pollution from 6,000 industries has now been addressed and brought into compliance. Large-scale work has started on stopping sewage from flowing into the Yamuna River. Many STPs that were running unmonitored and directly releasing dirty water have now been reset," Sirsa added.

The Delhi Environment Minister highlighted that despite a 21 per cent increase in construction and an 8 per cent rise in new vehicle registrations, pollution levels have remained stable. He also mentioned that the previously imposed bans on older vehicles have been revised to ensure fairness while still meeting environmental goals.
"This shows that when intent and policy are both clean, development and environment can progress together," Sirsa said.
He added that Delhi's AQI rose only by six points, from 345 to 351, which shows the stability and effectiveness of ongoing anti-pollution measures. Additonally, Sirsa also accused the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government of pressuring farmers to burn stubble to worsen Delhi's air quality and politically target the Rekha Gupta administration. He alleged that the surge in stubble-burning incidents over the past few days was "no coincidence" and claimed that farmers were being provoked to ignite fires for political gain.
"Over the past four days, stubble-burning incidents in Punjab have surged sharply, and this is no coincidence. Farmers are being pressured and provoked to burn stubble so that pollution in Delhi can be used politically to target the Delhi Government," Sirsa said.
The Minister strongly condemned AAP leaders' recent remarks on Diwali celebrations, saying, "Arvind Kejriwal and his team are trying to politicise a sacred festival. Diwali is not the property of any political party; it is the festival of India's soul. Calling Diwali a 'sin' is an insult to our faith and culture." (ANI)