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Opposition Members of Parliament on Wednesday entered the Lok Sabha chamber wearing gas masks to draw immediate attention to the escalating air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR and demanded that the House suspend its regular business to discuss the issue during the ongoing Winter Session.

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda, who was among those wearing a gas mask and was captured in widely circulated videos, strongly criticised the Central government for deflecting responsibility.

Speaking to the media outside Parliament, Hooda said the Centre must stop blaming other states and the Opposition and instead take urgent, concrete action to save millions of lives.

 

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He directly urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally lead the effort and proposed the immediate formation of a high-level group comprising the chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. This group, he said, should be tasked with preparing a comprehensive, time-bound action plan backed by dedicated budgetary allocations to permanently resolve the recurring air pollution crisis in the entire National Capital Region.

 

Also Read: Delhi AQI nears 'severe' level, some areas breach 400-mark

“Pollution has become deadly, and it has become difficult to breathe without this mask. I have given a motion of suspension of business notice to have a discussion on this issue,” Hooda stated.

Earlier on Wednesday morning, Delhi’s air quality remained entrenched in the ‘Very Poor’ category, with the city-wide Air Quality Index recorded at 376 at 7:00 am, according to official figures released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Several pockets of the capital, however, slipped into the ‘Severe’ category.

Iconic landmarks such as India Gate and Kartavya Path were shrouded under a thick blanket of toxic smog. The AQI in that area stood at 356, still classified as ‘Very Poor’. Meanwhile, footage from the Akshardham Temple area showed the entire vicinity engulfed in dense haze, where the AQI touched 405, falling squarely in the ‘Severe’ category.

 

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