Maneka Gandhi Blames Diwali Firecrackers For Delhi Pollution

New Delhi: BJP leader and former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has blamed Diwali fireworks for the pollution in Delhi. 

Why did Maneka Gandhi oppose Diwali fireworks?

Maneka Gandhi said that the claims about pollution from stubble burning or vehicles are false, as the air was clean until three days before Diwali. She also criticized the Supreme Court for allowing green crackers. She said that there is no such thing as green crackers. The BJP leader questioned whether fireworks were used when Lord Rama and Sita returned from exile.

Maneka Gandhi, who is vocal about environmental and animal rights, told the media that Diwali fireworks are primarily responsible for the pollution in Delhi. She used the word "traitor" for those who burst firecrackers.

"Those who use firecrackers are 'traitors'. I have no other word for them," Maneka Gandhi said.

Maneka Gandhi said that on Diwali, Dussehra, weddings, New Year, during cricket matches, or on any other day, people burst firecrackers, and as a result, breathing becomes difficult. 

"In the country, we blame other things, that someone is burning fields, there is a problem with vehicles, but all this is a lie. Because until three days before Diwali, the air is completely clean, and from Diwali to New Year, we cannot breathe. If firecrackers worth 800 crore rupees are burst only in Delhi on Diwali day, what will be the result?" she said.

Why did Maneka Gandhi slam the Supreme Court?

Maneka Gandhi said that this toxic air will not go away until it rains. 

“Even if it rains, what will happen? All that chemical will go into the ground. The ground will become toxic,” she said.
"The Supreme Court has again given a wrong order. It has become a habit of theirs to give arbitrary orders. They told people to use green crackers. There's no such thing as a green firecracker. Either ban them completely or just say everyone should die or keep complaining. The people who use the most firecrackers are the ones who ask, 'What is the government doing?',” she said.

In response to another question, Maneka Gandhi said, "Were there firecrackers during the time of Ram and Sita? When they arrived, only lamps were being lit, right?  Even that's uncertain. I don't know if there was oil back then. But there certainly weren't any firecrackers."