Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh refuses to meet Kejriwal over Delhi pollution
Chandigarh, Nov 14 (IBNS): Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has refused to meet his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, who had earlier urged the former to meet to discuss on pollution issue in the national capital, media reports said.
Amid the angry exchanges over the pollution issue in the national capital, Kejriwal urged his Punjab counterpart Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday to meet as the former will be in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
Kejriwal will be in Chandigarh on Wednesday to meet Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar to discuss the pollution issue in New Delhi.
Kejriwal tweeted: ".@capt_amarinder Sir, I am coming to Chandigarh on Wed to meet Haryana CM. Would be grateful if u cud spare sometime to meet me. It is in collective interest."
The two chief ministers have been engaged in verbal spats for sometime over the pollution in Delhi with stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana as one of the reasons.
Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has hit out at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal over the pollution problem at the national capital, calling the latter a "peculiar man".
Blasting Kejriwal, the Punjab CM said: "Mr Kejriwal is a peculiar person who has views on everything without understanding the situation. There is 20 million ton of paddy straw, where do I ask farmers to store? So Mr Kejriwal doesn't understand this problem."
While the Delhi CM wants to meet the chief ministers of neighbouring states like Punjab and Haryana, Capt. Amarinder feels the Centre can alone solve the problem.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a Public interest litigation (PIL) on Delhi pollution on Monday, media reports said.
The apex court said they can't ignore the air pollution at the national capital.
The air pollution in Delhi has been the burning issue as the air quality index is showing a figure much above the permissible limit.
The Delhi government, late on Saturday, has withdrawn its plan to implement the Odd-Even scheme from Nov 13 to 17, which it had announced to combat the dense smog affecting the National Capital Region.
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot made the announcement and cited the safety of women as the main reason behind their decision.
Earlier on Saturday, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) gave the go-ahead to the Delhi Government for implementation of the Odd-Even scheme for vehicles for five days starting on November 13 in order to check air pollution in the city, reports said.
However, it said that two wheelers, women and government employees will now not be exempted from the scheme, though ambulances will be.
During the hearing, the tribunal questioned the Delhi government as to why it was granting exemptions to certain sections if the aim was to improve air quality.
Image: Capt Amarinder Singh Twitter page
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