LoP Atishi writes to CM Rekha Gupta as Delhi chokes under record May pollution: “AQI crosses 500 in May for first time ever — BJP’s ‘four-engine govt’ has failed on every front”

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly, Atishi, has written a strongly worded letter to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, raising alarm over the unprecedented air pollution levels in the national capital. She pointed out that Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has crossed 500 in May for the first time in recorded history, calling it a direct consequence of the BJP’s governance failure.

In the letter, Delhi Assembly LoP Atishi wrote, “You are receiving this letter because of an extremely serious crisis affecting the lives of the people of Delhi — air pollution in the capital has reached dangerous levels. Delhi’s AQI has crossed 500 in the month of May — this has never happened before. The official data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shows that from 2022 to 2024, the AQI on the 15th of May never exceeded 243. As of today, the figure is over 500,” Atishi wrote.

“Hon’ble Chief Minister, the BJP is in power at the Centre, the Hon’ble LG is also from BJP, the MCD is now run by BJP, and now Delhi also has a BJP Chief Minister — that means BJP is running a full four-engine government in Delhi. Even then, pollution is out of control? In May — a month traditionally marked by hot winds and lower pollution — if the AQI crosses 500, this is not just pollution, this is a certificate of failure for the BJP government,” she said.

Atishi pointed out that the BJP’s own Environment Minister in Delhi, Manjinder Singh ‘Sirsaa’, had previously made big claims that pollution in Delhi was being caused by garbage burning. She questioned, “Now that the MCD is also governed by BJP, why has Delhi’s air become so poisonous? Is garbage still being burnt by the Aam Aadmi Party, or is this the result of the four-engine BJP government’s failure?”

She warned that Delhi’s residents are now suffering a double blow — oppressive heat and toxic air. “The number of respiratory patients in hospitals is rising. The elderly and children are the worst affected. But your government is nowhere to be seen. No plan, no action — only false claims and hollow slogans,” she wrote.

Atishi demanded direct accountability from CM Rekha Gupta and posed the following three questions:

1. Why has pollution risen so drastically in the month of May for the first time in Delhi’s history?
2. Should this be seen as a massive failure of BJP’s four-engine government?
3. Will the people of Delhi now have to struggle to breathe even during May and June every year?

In conclusion, Atishi wrote: “As Leader of the Opposition, I demand that you immediately inform the people of Delhi what steps your government has taken to control pollution, and why these steps have shown no impact on the ground.”