The Delhi government on Tuesday blamed the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab for the toxic haze over the capital after Diwali, claiming that large-scale stubble burning in Punjab was the primary cause of the pollution, not firecrackers.

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that the AAP was responsible for “deliberately forcing” farmers in neighbouring Punjab to burn record amounts of paddy stubble on Diwali night, contributing to the thick haze that blanketed Delhi the following morning.

“To please only a particular community, he [Arvind Kejriwal] is criticising this festival of Lord Shri Ram,” Sirsa said . “This is not a festival of the BJP, but of…Hindu Dharma. Baseless accusations without data, without facts!”

Sirsa added that despite the Supreme Court permit

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