'Santa Claus fainted in Delhi pollution': AAP's street theatre lambasting BJP over toxic air | Watch

A surreal protest in the heart of India’s capital has thrown into sharp relief the escalating political blame game over Delhi’s chronic air pollution crisis. On Thursday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) released a video skit showing two men dressed as Santa Claus — wearing anti-pollution masks — dramatically fainting on a busy pavement in Connaught Place, as senior party figures rushed to perform CPR.

The clip, shared by former Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj on X with the caption “Santa Claus fainted in Delhi pollution”, served as a macabre stunt timed as the city’s air quality remained entrenched in the “very poor” category. Official data from the Central Pollution Control Board recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 358 on Thursday.

Santa Claus🎅 Fainted in Delhi Pollution pic.twitter.com/nSUhhww82v

— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) December 18, 2025

The theatrical demonstration unfolded against a backdrop of stringent emergency measures coming into force. Under Stage IV of the Supreme Court-mandated Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), a stringent ban on thousands of vehicles was enforced at Delhi’s borders.

Transport and police teams conducted rigorous checks, turning away non-compliant vehicles and issuing fines in a bid to tackle one of winter’s largest pollution sources.

However, the AAP has fiercely contested the effectiveness of these actions. Saurabh Bhardwaj took to the social media platform X to accuse the central government of “headline management to fool people and the Supreme Court,” asserting that in reality, “there is no enforcement” at the borders.

The protest and the skit emerged amid a bitter war of words between the ruling BJP and the opposition AAP, which governs Delhi. Delhi’s Environment Minister, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, recently levelled serious allegations against the AAP, claiming the party had “abandoned” the city after over a decade in power.

Sirsa further alleged that AAP members were deliberately setting fire to waste at multiple locations to worsen pollution and urged former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to intervene. He specifically cited a claim from the Trilokpuri MLA that an AAP councillor was “seen burning garbage in the constituency and recording it.”

The AAP has dismissed these accusations as baseless. In a sharp rebuttal, the party stated that Sirsa had a “habit of indulging in lies and fraud.” It further alleged that since taking charge as Environment Minister, Sirsa had manipulated AQI readings by shutting down monitoring systems and spraying water on AQI stations to project a false improvement.

The party challenged the minister to file a formal police complaint if he possessed evidence of garbage burning, or else stop making what it termed “fake claims.” Meanwhile, several AAP leaders, led by Bhardwaj, staged a physical protest at Janpath against the deteriorating air quality, where the Santas in masks were also present.

As a toxic smog continues to blanket the national capital, pushing AQI levels perilously close to the “severe plus” category of 500, the political spectacle underscores a grim reality: while authorities scramble with emergency protocols and politicians trade incendiary charges, Delhi’s residents remain the primary casualties of an annual environmental catastrophe.