Punjab Govt forcing farmers to burn stubble: Sirsa

With the air quality worsening in the national capital, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday accused the AAP government in Punjab of "forcing farmers to burn stubble" to pollute the city’s air. Terming the allegation shameful, Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said farmers of Punjab would never conspire such a thing.

Addressing mediapersons, Sirsa alleged: “Over the past four days, stubble-burning incidents in Punjab have surged sharply, and this is no coincidence. Farmers are being pressured and provoked to burn stubble so that pollution in the national capital can be used politically to target the Delhi Government. 

“Arvind Kejriwal spent 10 years as a prominent leader abusing the farmers of Punjab. But now, in just seven months, we have begun to address a disease that’s been going on for 27 years.”

Responding to the allegations, the Delhi AAP chief said, “Punjab Sikh farmers would never conspire to defame Diwali; accusing them is shameful. Running the government is a responsible task; by lying about air pollution and Yamuna, you are playing with the lives of people and children.”