Delhi Minister Sirsa Accuses Punjab Government of Misrepresenting Stubble-Burning Data

New Delhi: Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government of misrepresenting data related to stubble burning in the state. He questioned the government's claim that no farm fires had been reported this year, pointing out that cases had allegedly been registered against farmers.
 

Sirsa claimed that the Punjab government had spent Rs 20–25 crore on advertisements to project that no incidents of stubble burning had taken place in the state this year. However, he alleged that 271 FIRs had been registered against farmers in different districts of Punjab over stubble-burning incidents.
 

"We have more than 1,000 cases of stubble burning before us, and 271 FIRs have been registered," Sirsa said. He questioned what he described as a contradiction between the AAP government's public statements and the action being taken against farmers.
 

Accusing the Punjab government of misleading people about the contribution of stubble burning to air pollution in Delhi, Sirsa said AAP leaders had claimed that the two issues were not connected, while cases were being registered against farmers in Punjab.
 

The Delhi minister also accused AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal of "taking revenge on Delhi". He alleged that the party was uncomfortable with the improvement in the capital's air quality under the BJP government.
 

Sirsa described October 2026 as the cleanest October in Delhi in the past decade. He also claimed that the city had recorded 220 clean-air days so far this year.
 

According to Sirsa, Delhi's average Air Quality Index (AQI) had remained around 10 per cent lower than in previous years. He credited the improvement to the joint efforts of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's government and the city's residents.
 

The AAP had not issued an immediate response to Sirsa's allegations.