Pollution Debate Dies In Non-Congenial Air
New Delhi : As ironies go, this one should take the cake for the most cruel: Parliament, choking on its own hot air, adjourned sine die while Delhi gasps for breath. And a discussion on Delhi’s toxic environment scrapped because, hold your breath, the environment in Parliament was not congenial. Schools stayed shut, half of the working population stayed home, hospitals saw a spike in chest complaints, and millions masked up, breathing through gritted teeth. This wasn’t a freak event, it was the annual winter ritual: pollution’s predictable encore.
Yet inside the “temple of democracy,” the one debate that could have actually cleared the air–the long-promised discussion on Delhi-NCR’s choking crisis–was quietly gassed. The government had nodded to the Opposition’s demand; Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav was queued up to speak. Opposition MPs stormed the Well like it was a battlefield, tore copies of the bill like, and shouted slogans loud enough to drown out any whisper of sense. The result: Lok Sabha adjourned barely after an hour, barely after warming up.
Lawmakers in air-conditioned sanctuaries cited a “hostile atmosphere” as their reason to flee, while citizens outside faced an atmosphere that is literally hostile: hazardous, life-shortening, and utterly relentless. But the day had begun with a promise that the lawmakers would bury their toxic differences to discuss Delhi’s air. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju responded positively, stating the government was ready to discuss all important matters and would schedule it via the Business Advisory Committee.
His focus was on the VB-G RAM G Bill–he called it “anti-village” and accused the government of demolishing “twenty years of MGNREGA in one day”. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Congress MP) had earlier supported a pollution debate, saying the government should make a “good action plan”. She protested the bill’s passage, but was seen in post-adjournment tea with PM Modi, reflecting a congenial post-adjournment environment.
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