Pollution data cannot be fudged: Delhi CM on AAP's charge of manipulating AQI

New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday lambasted the AAP and said that pollution data cannot be tampered with and advised the "unemployed" opposition to stick to singing songs.

Her response came after the AAP criticised the government's cloud seeding trials and raised accusations that the BJP government in Delhi shut down pollution monitoring stations and manipulated Air Quality Index data on Diwali night to conceal the situation.

"There is something wrong with the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) thinking. The problem with the AAP is that if AQI goes down, they will say the data is fudged. If the AQI increases, how is it increasing? It is not our job to answer their nuisance. We are working honestly to address the pollution problem in Delhi," she told reporters on the sidelines of an event for retailers.

Asserting that AQI data can neither be tampered with nor manipulated, she said, "Anyone can get the AQI of a particular location while standing there." "AAP has a problem. They are wondering how the results will be visible in eight months (of the BJP government coming to power). AAP is unemployed. They were singing a song that day, so they should start doing something like that and stop bothering people. They will keep on misguiding people and making nonsensical statements," she said.

The party had posted a video of its leaders, including Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, singing the song 'Barsaat bhi aake chali gayi' to mock Delhi's cloud seeding trials, which failed to ensure rainfall in the national capital.

The AAP had also slammed the government over Chhath celebrations and said they had prepared a "fake" Yamuna ghat with filtered water.

"They should be happy with progress. The people from Purvanachal were happy with the Chhath celebrations, but the AAP indulged in drama. There is no end to their drama, and we do not want to comment on it," she added. PTI SLB HIG