The BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) locked horns over Delhi’s air pollution crisis on Friday, trading sharp accusations even as air quality in the national capital showed marginal improvement but continued to remain in the “poor” category. The latest flashpoint was a letter from Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena to AAP national convener and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in which the LG claimed that his earlier warnings on worsening pollution levels had been repeatedly dismissed by the previous AAP government.
In the letter, Saxena said that when he raised concerns about pollution during Kejriwal’s tenure as chief minister, the response was dismissive. Quoting Kejriwal, Saxena wrote: “Sir, this happens every year. The media raises it for 15–20 days. Activists and the courts make it an issue, and then everyone forgets. You too should not pay much attention to it.”
AAP reacted strongly, accusing the LG of deflecting responsibility instead of addressing the worsening pollution levels in the city. In a sarcastic counter, the party shared a digitally altered image of Saxena on social media platform X, portraying him as the amnesiac character from the Bollywood film Ghajini.
The post carried the caption “L – Low Quality; G – Ghajini” and showed Saxena’s face morphed onto the film character’s body, with tattoos reading “Kejriwal is responsible”, “Pollution in 2025” and “AQI 750”. The poster declared, “Delhi’s LG has become Ghajini,” in an apparent jibe at what AAP described as selective memory.
The BJP hit back sharply at the visual attack. Speaking to NDTV, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the ruling party was being unfairly targeted. “We are accountable for the current pollution crisis. But are we also accountable for the sins committed by the AAP over the last 12 years?” he asked.
Echoing Saxena’s claims, Sachdeva alleged that Kejriwal had consistently downplayed the problem while in office. “When LG Saxena spoke about pollution, then CM Arvind Kejriwal would say this is an issue of 15–20 days. The media will highlight it, activists will go to court, and then the issue will be over. There is no need to work on it,” he said.
Sachdeva further argued that responsibility for Delhi’s deteriorating air quality lay with the previous AAP government. “If anyone has forgotten Delhi after a disappointing electoral defeat, it is the AAP,” he said, adding that the party should have featured Kejriwal, not the LG, in the poster. “Kejriwal forgot Delhi and ran away from his responsibilities.”
Defending the current dispensation, the BJP leader said the government was taking steps to tackle pollution but needed time to undo past damage. “Pollution is not a two-month problem. It is a year-round issue. You governed for 12 years, and now you want to fix accountability on a government that has been in power for just nine or ten months?” he said. “Are we responsible for your mistakes?” He stated that Delhi’s pollution would require sustained effort, insisting that the present government was committed to correcting what it described as years of neglect.
