New Delhi [India], October 22 (ANI): Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa has accused former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of appeasement politics, alleging that he 'deliberately banned firecrackers in Delhi to garner the votes of a particular community, to appease them'.

Addressing a press conference, Sirsa hit out at AAP over its allegations that BJP government was under pressure from cracker manufacturers.

'They (AAP) are deliberately bringing Diwali, Sanatana Dharma, and Hinduism into the picture... Arvind Kejriwal first deliberately banned firecrackers in Delhi to garner the votes of a particular community, to appease them. Since this morning, Arvind Kejriwal's entire team has been constantly cursing Diwali... Sanjay Singh and his colleagues have been tweeting since last night, asking to stop celebrating Diwali. Aam Aadmi Party president is cursing the BJP. Diwali isn't the BJP's festival. The BJP president and the BJP Chief Minister are being cursed.,' he alleged.

'This isn't the BJP's festival. It's a Sanatan Hindu festival, and why are you cursing the festival? Why are you using words against the festival? But to say that BJP is celebrating Diwali, to say that BJP is bursting crackers like this, to say that BJP is doing such wrong things, I feel very embarrassed...Let me tell you that those who are blaming Diwali for this, it is a lie. This is being done only to please some section. The admirers of Aurangzeb and Akbar are saying this; those who had put Tipu Sultan's photo in the Vidhan Sabha are saying this. For 10 years, Arvind Kejriwal was the Chief Minister,' he added.

Sirsa also gave figures of AQI levels in Delhi before and after Diwali of the preceding years and this year when green crackers were allowed for specific period.

'In 2020, the firecrackers in Diwali were going on. At that time, PM 2.5 was 414 before Diwali and 435 after Diwali. There was an increase of 21 points in the firecrackers. In 2021, there was an increase of 80 points. In 2024, when the firecrackers were banned, the AQI was 328 before Diwali and 360 after Diwali. 32 points increased when the firecrackers were banned. On the order of the Supreme Court and on the request of the Delhi government, we got permission for green firecrackers,' he said.

'Before Diwali, the AQI was 345, and after Diwali, the AQI was 356, according to the CPCB's Sameer App... Only 11 points increased when the firecrackers were allowed. Will you hold Diwali responsible for this? Will you hold the faith of all the Sanatanas and Hindus in Delhi accountable? What is the fault in this?' he asked.

AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said on Tuesday that on Diwali, apart from green crackers, other kinds of crackers were also burst in the national capital.

'This shows that Delhi government was under pressure of cracker manufacturers,' he alleged.

Sirsa alleged AAP government in Punjab is forcing farmers to burn stubble Burning of stubble is a reason for spike in pollution levels during winters in Delhi.

'I want to show you how the Aam Aadmi Party is deliberately forcing farmers to burn stubble in Punjab by covering their faces... Farmers don't want to burn stubble, but they were told to do so. They've been forced to burn stubble by covering their faces, so that this stubble can have an impact on Delhi. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal spent ten years as Chief Minister, abusing the farmers of Punjab. But now, in just seven months, we have begun working on a disease that had been going on for the past 27 years,' he said. (ANI)