NEW DELHI, Nov 2026 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said the central government’s own agency, SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research), had exposed the BJP government’s lies over Delhi’s record pollution levels, admitting that Punjab’s stubble burning had a negligible contribution to the capital’s pollution. He called out the BJP government for defaming Punjabis to hide its own incompetence, pointing out that winds had been blowing towards Pakistan since Diwali, making it impossible for smoke from Punjab to reach Delhi. Saurabh Bharadwaj questioned why BJP leaders were so troubled by Punjab’s smoke heading towards Pakistan.
AAP Delhi Unit Chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “The central government’s institution, SAFAR, measures the various sources contributing to pollution in Delhi. I have checked its website in the morning and found that, on the night before Diwali, stubble smoke contributed 5 per cent to Delhi’s pollution. That smoke could have originated from anywhere, including Haryana, Punjab or Uttar Pradesh.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj further highlighted, “On Diwali night, that is, 9 November, the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s pollution was negligible, or almost zero. This meant that the BJP government in Delhi and Minister Kapil Mishra were lying. However, Kapil Mishra was a habitual liar, and this had also been proven in court.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that ever since he had made the data from the SAFAR website public in the media, the BJP government had shut down the SAFAR website itself. “The central government’s SAFAR website itself stated that easterly winds had been blowing since Diwali. This meant that winds were moving from Punjab towards Pakistan. Consequently, even if some smoke had been generated by stubble burning in Punjab, it was heading towards Pakistan,” he added.
The AAP Delhi State President questioned, “If the smoke was going towards Pakistan, why was Kapil Mishra so troubled? If a little smoke from Punjab was heading towards Pakistan because of the wind, why were BJP spokespersons so distressed? What was their issue with Pakistan that they were so worried? Did they not even know that smoke carried by easterly winds could not reach Delhi? It would move westwards, towards Pakistan.”
He noted that the contribution of stubble burning was 5 per cent on the day before Diwali, but there was no contribution at all on Diwali day. “This was because the wind direction from Punjab was towards Pakistan. Even if some stubble had been burnt on Diwali day, the wind was carrying the smoke towards Pakistan,” he said.
Saurabh Bharadwaj further said that stubble smoke did not travel by airplane from an airport; it travelled with the speed of the wind, and said, “It took at least two to three days to reach its destination. Therefore, even if the allegation regarding Diwali were considered valid, the smoke would reach Delhi only after two to three days. If Kapil Mishra believed that Delhi was in Pakistan, he should correct his geography, since his science was already poor. The government should explain why it was so fond of firecrackers and the people who manufacture them.”
He further said that a large number of firecrackers were burst on Diwali night this year, and, just like last year, the BJP government had shut down a substantial number of pollution monitoring stations. “The government had done this so that less pollution would be measured, because if it was not measured, it would not have to be reported to the public,” he stated.
The senior AAP leader stated that this year, during the Supreme Court hearing on firecrackers, the Supreme Court had said that there was no data indicating that firecrackers increased pollution. Last year too, he added. The day after Diwali, numerous news reports, social media posts and newspaper articles had reported that the government had shut down AQI monitoring stations to prevent data from being collected.
“Did the Supreme Court judges not read newspapers? And had they not read them this year either? Were they so unaware that they did not even know why data from Diwali night was not available?,” he questioned.
Saurabh Bharadwaj asserted that this was a matter of grave concern because the High Court and Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of ordinary matters. “However, in this case, even after written complaints were submitted to the CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management)and CPCB (Central for Pollution Control Board) stating that the government was committing massive manipulation and fraud in AQI data, the courts, CPCB and CAQM were all silent,” he said.
Saurabh Bharadwaj concluded by saying, “It is natural for the government to remain silent, as it is itself involved in this conspiracy. But what is remarkable is that the public and social media are not silent. People are measuring pollution using their own devices and holding up a mirror to the government.”
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
