Samajwadi Party leader calls 'burning of bodies' as cause of air pollution, BJP hits back

A pedestrian walks through dense fog on a cold winter morning, in New Delhi.

Amid rising air pollution, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader RK Chaudhary, in a peculiar remark on Thursday, claimed burning of dead bodies also causes air pollution.

Speaking to ANI, Chaudhary also cited the burning of wood during the Holika Dahan festival as a source of pollution, adding that his remarks are not religious but environmental.

The Samajwadi Party leader said, "When bodies are burnt, they release carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, and it burns oxygen in the atmosphere. Even during the lighting of fire on Holika Dahan, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are released. Our country is not serious about air pollution. This is not about religion but the environment."

BJP hits back

In response to his remark, Union Minister Giriraj Singh asked him to convert to another religion. "He should change his religion. I don't know whether he is Hindu or Muslim," Giriraj Singh said.

BJP MP Manan Kumar Mishra also criticised Chaudhary's statement, claiming that he wants to attack the Hindu religion instead of looking at the pollution emanating from vehicles and stubble burning.

The BJP MP said, "He cannot see the pollution emanating from vehicles, stubble burning, he just wants to launch an attack on the Hindu religion, that's why he is giving such misleading statements. This is very sad."

Delhi Pollution

Air pollution in Delhi-NCR has sparked a political row. Earlier on Thursday, Aam Aadmi Party National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal said that even as the national capital struggles with rising pollution levels, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi are on foreign visits, failing to address New Delhi's urgent environmental crisis.

In a post shared on X, Kejriwal said, "Prime Minister in Oman, Leader of the Opposition in Germany, The country's capital in pollution."

The Air Quality Index (AQI) level in Delhi was at 373 at 4 pm today in the 'very poor' category.

(With inputs from ANI)