Opposition MPs protest over Delhi’s toxic air, Sonia urges Centre to 'act, not speak'

Leaders of several Opposition parties on Thursday staged a protest in the Parliament complex over the escalating air pollution crisis in Delhi, accusing the Centre of ignoring what they described as a public health emergency.

Carrying placards and chanting slogans outside Parliament’s Makar Dwar, the MPs urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “stop issuing statements and start taking action”.

Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who joined the protest, criticised the government for inaction.

“It is the government’s responsibility to do something as children are dying. Old people like me are also finding it difficult,” she told reporters, underscoring the urgency of the situation.

Many Opposition MPs wore masks during the demonstration to symbolically highlight the hazardous air quality levels.

Delhi’s AQI (Air Quality Index) has repeatedly slipped into the ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ categories since Diwali, prompting school closures, restrictions under the GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan), and rising cases of respiratory distress.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, DMK members, and MPs from the CPI(M), AAP, RJD and JD(U) also participated, signalling a broad opposition front on the issue.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reiterated that her repeated calls for a discussion in Parliament were not political manoeuvring but a plea for immediate intervention.

“Air pollution is not a political issue. The government should take concrete action, we are all with it,” she said.

“People are suffering. Children, senior citizens, outdoor workers — everyone is affected.”

Opposition parties have been demanding a full-fledged debate in both Houses, arguing that Delhi’s smog cannot be dismissed as a seasonal or localised phenomenon.

They point to scientific assessments linking north India’s worsening winter pollution to vehicular emissions, industrial activity, biomass burning, and unfavourable meteorological conditions that trap pollutants close to the ground.

They also criticised what they termed the Centre’s inconsistent approach, saying that while enforcement agencies penalised citizens and workers, structural reforms such as decentralised transit systems, alternative crop disposal mechanisms, and stricter industrial oversight remained inadequate.

The protest comes amid a renewed push in the Supreme Court for systemic, long-term solutions to Delhi-NCR’s air crisis, with the court asking agencies to proactively curb stubble burning, vehicular emissions and open construction dust.

With inputs from PTI