New Delhi, June 14 (IANS) The Congress on Thursday described the severe air quality in Delhi as an "emergency-like situation" and accused the the AAP government in Delhi and the BJP at the Centre of fighting with each other to hide their failures.
"Delhi is facing emergency-like situation of pollution... It is because the (public) transport system has come to a standstill in the tenure of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government," Delhi Congress Chief Ajay Maken said while leading a protest march against the severe air quality here.
Hundreds of party workers gathered outside Rajiv Chowk Metro Station in central Delhi.
Targeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Maken said: "Air pollution in Delhi have crossed danger mark, but Kejriwal is sitting on protest for his rights in air-conditioned rooms."
"And likewise, the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), which is also the ruling party in the MCD and at the Centre, is also sitting on protest...
"Both the BJP and the AAP are fighting with each other just to hide their failures due to which people are suffering a lot," he alleged.
Targeting both parties, Maken asked: "Who will raise the voice of people if both AAP and BJP will sit on dharna against each other in air-conditioned rooms?
"If Kejriwal will sit on protest, who will fight for the rights of the people of the city, who will fight for water and electricity and against the air pollution?"
Slamming the city government for failing on all fronts, the former Union Minister said that during the Congress regime in Delhi, there were 5,500 buses in the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) fleet which has now come down to 3,500 in AAP regime.
"Kejriwal government had failed to even purchase a single DTC bus in his tenure of more than three and half years," he alleged.
Highlighting the works of the Congress government under Sheila Dikshit, Maken said that during the 15 years of Congress rule in Delhi, for six years the BJP government was at the Centre.
"But the Congress government converted the DTC buses and autos into CNG which brought laurels to Delhi government at international level and also helped lower the pollution level."
"If the Congress government could carry out development works in Delhi, as alleged by the AAP, then why Kejriwal has failed to do it for the people of Delhi?" he questioned.
Maken said that through this protest, "we want to wake up Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers from slumber and draw their attention towards the emergency-like situation of pollution in Delhi".
