Asking Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to refrain from trying to politicise the issue of air pollution, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ruled out a meeting with him to discuss the issue.
Responding to Mr. Kejriwal’s tweet asking for a meeting with him, Capt. Singh said: “I fail to understand why the Delhi CM is trying to force his hand, knowing well that any such discussion would be meaningless and futile.”
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Petty politics: Punjab CM
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“Mr. Kejriwal’s tendency to indulge in petty street politics is well-known,” said Capt. Singh, adding that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was trying to divert public attention from his own government’s failure to check pollution, as “exposed by the response of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to the ill-conceived odd-even scheme”.
Capt. Singh said the pollution problems faced by Delhi and Punjab were completely different with no meeting ground.
“Unlike Punjab, the Delhi problem is mainly the result of urban pollution caused by mismanaged transportation and unplanned industrial development. Instead of focusing his attention on resolving these issues, Mr. Kejriwal wants to waste time holding useless discussions,” said Capt. Singh.
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On stubble burning, Capt. Singh said that it was not a political issue, as Mr. Kejriwal was trying to project it, but an “economic problem that needs an economic solutions, which the Central government alone is in a position to provide”.