NEW DELHI, Dec 9: A fresh political confrontation erupted in Delhi after AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal criticised Chief Minister Rekha Gupta for her controversial comparison of the Air Quality Index (AQI) to temperature. The BJP leader made the remark during the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025 while responding to allegations that the government was manipulating pollution data.
In a sharp attack posted on X, Kejriwal questioned the scientific validity of Gupta’s statements and alleged that her remarks indirectly confirmed that water was being sprayed near air-quality monitoring stations to artificially lower pollution readings. “The Chief Minister has at least accepted that wherever AQI monitors are installed, water spraying is being done there so that the truth about pollution doesn’t reach the people of Delhi,” he wrote.
Kejriwal further accused the BJP-led administration of prioritising optics over real solutions, arguing that disguising AQI levels betrays the suffering of residents. “When did this new science come about that AQI has now become temperature?” he asked, mocking Gupta’s analogy.
Gupta, defending her position at the summit, said that pollution hotspots were areas with the highest concentration of pollutants and required immediate intervention. She claimed water spraying and soil work were part of targeted mitigation measures. “AQI is like a temperature which you can know from any instrument, so watering it is the only solution which we are also doing,” she said.
The controversy comes amid viral videos circulating on social media that purportedly show water being sprayed around AQI monitors in several high-pollution zones—an allegation the opposition says points to deliberate data suppression.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday, with a 24-hour average AQI of 314, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. Forecasts suggest that pollution levels could worsen further in the coming days, keeping the issue at the centre of political and public scrutiny.
