Kejriwal meets Haryana CM Khattar, Delhi smog, stubble burning on agenda
The chief minister is accompanied by Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain and another senior official.
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday met Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Chandigarh to discuss increasing pollution levels in Delhi-NCR due to crop burning in Punjab and Haryana.
Pollution reached disastrous levels in Delhi, with smog enveloping the whole city.
The chief minister is accompanied by Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain and another senior official.
Myself, Del Env Minister n Env Secy on our way to Haryana to discuss issues related to pollution with Hon'ble CM of Haryana and his team. Look forward to a fruitful discussion
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 15, 2017
Kejriwal on Tuesday made another effort to reach out to the Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to discuss ways to combat pollution in the state.
"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," he tweeted.
.@capt_amarinder 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
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 14, 2017
Singh ruled out the meeting urging Kejriwal to refrain from trying to politicise such a serious issue.
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: @capt_amarinder to @ArvindKejriwal
— RaveenMediaAdvPunCM (@RT_MediaAdvPbCM) November 14, 2017
Responding to media reports triggered by Kejriwal’s tweet, once again seeking a meeting with him, Singh said he failed to understand why the Delhi chief minister was trying to force his hand, knowing well that any such discussion would be meaningless and futile.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh last week called Arvind Kejriwal a "peculiar person".
"Mr. Kejriwal is a peculiar person who has views on everything without understanding the situation. There is 20 million ton of paddy straw, where do I ask farmers to store? So Mr. Kejriwal doesn't understand this problem," Amarinder Singh said.
While Kejriwal insisted on an urgent meeting with his Punjab and Haryana counterparts, Amarinder Singh said that the issue can only be solved by the Central Government.
Kejriwal has blamed the burning of crop stubble by farmers in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana as the major cause of the spiking pollution in Delhi.