In another blow to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh has turned down the former's offer to meet and discuss ways to bring down the pollution level in their respective states. Kejriwal had earlier expressed his interest in meeting Singh on Wednesday in Chandigarh when he was having a meeting with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
Turning down his offer, the Punjab CM's media adviser Raveen Thukral on Tuesday tweeted "Stop politicising the #pollution issue, you know any meeting between us would be useless, and in any case now that the apex court is also seized of the matter, let us leave it to them and the central govt to find long-term solutions."
Earlier, Arvind Kejriwal had blamed the burning of crop stubble by farmers in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana as the major cause of the spiking pollution in Delhi.
"Sir, I am coming to Chandigarh on Wed to meet Haryana CM. Would be grateful if u cud spare sometime to meet me. It is in collective interest," the Delhi chief minister had tweeted to Amarinder Singh, who had last week called Mr Kejriwal a "peculiar person with views on everything but no understanding."
The social media exchanges began between the ministers after the national capital's air turned 'severe' and the city became unlivable.
During the entire fiasco, Amarinder Singh had asserted that Delhi's pollution crisis has been cause by "mismanaged transportation and unplanned industrial development." Instead of focusing all his attention on resolving these issues, he said, "Kejriwal wants to waste time with holding useless discussions."
