Hindustan Times (Amritsar)

KEJRI, KHATTAR IN WAR OF WORDS

AIR QUALITY Haryana chief minister asks his Delhi counterpar­t to rise above electoral interests; Kejriwal says Khattar has refused to meet him in national capital

- HT Correspond­ents letterschd@hindustant­imes.com

NEWDELHI: Politics over pollution continued unabated on Monday though no end appeared in sight to Delhi’s struggle with toxic air.

Days after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal got into a public spat with Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, he traded charges with his Haryana counterpar­t Manohar Lal Khattar over the health emergency in NCR.

Khattar on Monday tweeted a copy of a letter he sent to Kejriwal on November 10, asking him to “rise above short-term electoral gains” and focus on action in the fight against pollution.

CHANDIGARH /NEW DELHI : Politics over pollution continued unabated on Monday though no end appeared insight to Delhi’ s struggle with toxic air.

Days after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal got into a public spat with Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, he traded charges with his Haryana counterpar­t Manohar L al K hat tar over the health emergency in the National Capital Region.

Khattar on Monday tweeted a copy of a letter he sent to Kejriwal on November 10, asking him to “rise above short-term electoral gains” and focus on collective action in the fight against pollution.

Stubble burning by farmers in Haryana and Punjab has led to a spike in pollution in Capital, and Kejriwal has been criticisin­g the chief ministers of both states on social media for not doing enough to control it.

Khattar, in his letter, turned the tables on Kejriwal by asking him what he had done to check pollution in his city.

“Your assertion that the (Pun- jab and Haryana) government­s have failed to provide farmers economical­ly viable solutions gives away your subconscio­us awareness of your government’ s in action in this regard. There are 40,000 farmers’ families who cultivate as many hectares in Delhi. What steps have been taken to keep them from burning stubble?”

He added that no single person, organisati­on or government could improve the quality of air.

Offering to meet Kejriwal to resolve the issue, Khattar said he is in Delhi on November 13 and 14 after which he would be available in Chandigarh.

He sought a“strong mechanism” to enhance the outcome of constructi­ve steps .“The bed rock for such a mechanism is a mindset that unfortunat­ely his (Kejriwal’s) letter contained no hint of. In fact, your reference to the help- les sn es so ff armers in Punjab and Haryana in stubble burning betrays an inability to rise above short-term electoral interests,” Khattar wrote in his letter dated November 10.

The Haryana CM’s letter was in response to a November 8 letter by Kejriwal, in which he had sought time from Khattar to discuss stubble burning. Khattar reminded the Delhi CM that “while Punjab has not spent even a paisa out its allocation of Rs 97.58 cr ore, Ha ryan a has used Rs 39 crore of the allocation of Rs 45 crore released for crop residue management.”

Kejriw al then wrote on Twitter that he was trying to meet Khattar in Delhi, but the Ha ryan aCM told him that he was busy. “He has asked me to come to Chandigarh on Wednesday. I look forward to meeting him,” Kejriwal said.

When asked about the spat, Khattar told HT: “I am pained at what Kejriwal is doing. No one should do politics over pollution… We should think about long-term measures as this season is already over and this pollution due to stubble burning will go within a day or two.”

 ?? HT FILE ?? Kejriwal will meet Khattar on Wednesday to discuss stubble burning.
HT FILE Kejriwal will meet Khattar on Wednesday to discuss stubble burning.
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