‘Vishwaguru in air pollution’: Kharge takes a swipe at PM Modi, asks him to give ‘Hawa Ka Hisaab’

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday targeted the BJPled government at the Centre over rising air pollution in the national capital asking why Delhi was becoming a ldquoVishwagururdquo in pollution and whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would dare to give the nation ldquoHawa Ka HisaabrdquoDelhi has been witnessing rising pollution levels after Diwali with stubble burning in neighbouring states contributing to the deterioration in air quality Kharge accused the Modi government of relying on piecemeal measures to address the problemWhy are we becoming a Vishwaguru in air pollution Piecemeal measures PR stunts broken promises and blame games have become the hallmark of the BJP Kharge said in a post on XClean air is a fundamental right not a privilege to be granted by the Government he addedWhy are we becoming a lsquoVishwagurursquo in air pollution Piecemeal measures PR stunts broken promises and blame games have become the hallmark of the BJP Last year water tankers were spraying around AQI monitoring stations amid allegations of lsquowashing awayrsquo the pollution figures this year as pollution peaked PM25 readings simply vanished from 36 of Delhirsquos 59 monitoring stations In the last 12 years PM narendramodi has only done lipservice to the issue of Air Pollution On 8 May 2019 PM Modi had identified it as a major challenge but his Govt has done nothing on that front From DelhiNCR to Uttar Pradesh Bihar Haryana Punjab and Rajasthan people are gasping for clean air Will Modi ji dare to give the nation Hawa Ka Hisaab The facts are as alarming as they are shameful bull 17188 deaths in Delhi were estimated to be attributable to particulate air pollution in 2023 nearly 15 of all deaths GBDCREA all ages bull 169400 children under five died from airpollutionrelated causes across India in 2021 State of Global Air 2024 Research also links PM25 exposure with impaired lung development and elevated child mortality risks particularly across northern states bull Rs 1154 crore nearly 60 of Delhirsquos environmental compensation collections remained unspent according to a September 2026 RTI response Delhi utilised merely 17 of its National Clean Air Programme funds released through December 2025 bull The Supreme Court has given BJPruled Delhi Haryana Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan two weeks to submit detailed responses and proposed measures to tackle the pollution crisis Year after year particularly from October to February the same toxic haze returns accompanied by the same assurances and the same fingerpointing Spend the funds Cut emissions Enforce the rules Clean air is a fundamental right not a privilege to be granted by the Governmentmdash Mallikarjun Kharge kharge November 10 2026Kharge also alleged that the authorities had failed to ensure transparency in air quality monitoring He recalled that last year water tankers were used to spray around air quality monitoring stations amid allegations of washing away pollution figuresThis year as pollution levels peaked PM25 readings allegedly disappeared from 36 of Delhis 59 monitoring stations he claimedKharge cites pollution death toll unspent funds to target CentreIn the last 12 years PM Narendra Modi has only done lipservice to the issue of air pollution On 8 May 2019 PM Modi had identified it as a major challenge but his Government has done nothing on that front From DelhiNCR to Uttar Pradesh Bihar Haryana Punjab and Rajasthan people are gasping for clean air the Congress chief saidWill Modi ji dare to give the nation Hawa Ka Hisaab Kharge askedCiting figures on the impact of air pollution Kharge said an estimated 17188 deaths in Delhi in 2023 were attributable to particulate air pollution accounting for nearly 15 per cent of all deaths across age groups according to Global Burden of Disease GBDCentre for Research on Energy and Clean Air CREA dataHe also cited the State of Global Air 2024 report which estimated that 169400 children under the age of five died from air pollutionrelated causes across India in 2021 Research has also linked PM25 exposure to impaired lung development and higher child mortality risks particularly in northern states he saidKharge further pointed to the utilisation of funds meant to address pollution According to a September 2026 RTI response Rs 1154 crore nearly 60 per cent of Delhis environmental compensation collections remained unspent He also said Delhi had utilised only 17 per cent of the National Clean Air Programme funds released through December 2025The Congress President said the Supreme Court had given the BJPruled governments of Delhi Haryana Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan two weeks to submit detailed responses and proposed measures to tackle the pollution crisisYear after year particularly from October to February the same toxic haze returns accompanied by the same assurances and the same fingerpointing Spend the funds Cut emissions Enforce the rules Kharge assertedWith PTI inputs