NEW DELHI, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Shri. Devender Yadav slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its dual policy on ban of firecrackers as on the one hand, it claims to take strong steps in the name of pollution control, while on the other hand, it pretends to oppose the ban on bursting of firecrackers. He said that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee has enforced a year-round ban on firecrackers in Delhi under the Environment Protection Act, and the BJP, which earlier opposed firecracker ban, now sees it implemented under its rule. He said that if the BJP is really serious about enforcing the ban, why doesn’t it go to the Supreme Court and file a review petition?
Shri Devender Yadav said that the BJP has a track record of not working for the welfare of the people or protecting the environment, as its only aim is to spread hatred and confusion in the society so that it could reap political rewards at the expense of the people. He said that the BJP, which cried foul over the Supreme Court order and environmental laws while in power plays the ‘pro-Hindu’ card when it was in the opposition. He said the BJP has only one motto– spreading hatred in society for the sake of power. He said that people were misled about the ban on firecrackers in Delhi by saying that the ban hurt the religious sentiments of people, but the BJP took a U-turn on the issue as soon as it came to power.
Shri Devender Yadav said that had concrete steps been taken in advance to control pollution in Delhi, this situation would not have arisen. He said that first the Kejriwal Government and now the BJP Government have misled the people with false narratives as both these parties have failed to take effective action to check the real sources of pollution.
Shri Devender Yadav said that in the current situation, when inflation and unemployment are at their peak, the common man has no money to burn on crackers. He said that Congress respects the decision of the Supreme Court, but advises the public to be beware of the double-faced politics of the power-hungry BJP.
Shri Devender Yadav recalled that the Supreme Court had imposed ban on firecrackers several times in the past, but the impact of those orders was not visible on the ground. He said that if the BJP government is really serious about controlling air pollution, then it should take strict action on emissions from thermal power plants running in the NCR region, which have been exempted from the ambit of pollution control.
Shri Devender Yadav reminded BJP MP Manoj Tiwari of his pre-poll promise of lifting the ban on firecrackers after winning the Assembly elections. Terming the Modi government’s’ National Clean Air Programme as a “complete failure”, Shri Devender Yadav said that just as that programme had failed, the cracker ban will also meet with a similar farcical fate.
Shri Devender Yadav also accused the Aam Aadmi Party of following a dual policy like the BJP. He said that on the one hand, the public is admonished when it bursts fire crackers in the name of pollution control while on the other hand, no restrictions are imposed when it comes to their own celebrations. He recalled that when former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was granted conditional bail by the court, the Aam Aadmi Party had openly celebrated by bursting crackers, but the public has been restrained from bursting crackers during festivals.
He said that Delhiites will not be able to burst firecrackers this Diwali, as the the BJP government headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has imposed a year-long ban on the bursting and sale of firecrackers with immediate effect.
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