Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi has urged for urgent and structured debate in Lok Sabha on India’s deteriorating air pollution. He on Friday described the issue as a national public health emergency that needs to be tackled.
Speaking in Lok Sabha, the Congress MP labelled it as a public health emergency that concerns people, regardless of the political parties.
This is not an ideological issue. Everybody in this house would agree that air pollution, the damage it is doing to our people, is something that we would like to cooperate on,” Gandhi said.
“It’s important that the government develops a plan for how to get rid of air pollution in our cities. We are more than happy to cooperate with the government on developing such a plan,” he said.
“We should try not to make it a discussion where we are abusing you and you are abusing us. I think we should make it a discussion where we are participating; we are showing the country that on this fundamental issue.” He added.
Gandhi further urged the Prime Minister to present a city-wise, long-term strategy outlining measures to tackle pollution over the next decade.
“Within the next five or ten years, maybe we cannot resolve the problem, but we are going to address the problem and make life for our people easier,” he said.
“Most of our major cities are living under a blanket of poisonous air, with millions of children developing lung diseases and elderly citizens struggling to breathe,” he added.
Responding to Gandhi’s remarks, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government was prepared for a discussion, adding that the Lok Sabha’s Business Advisory Committee could allocate time for it.
“The issue raised by Rahul Gandhi was also brought to notice in the Business Advisory Committee. From Day 1, the government has made it clear that it is ready to discuss all important matters and find solutions, taking along suggestions from the Opposition. We will see how we can take up this discussion. We will come back, and let us see how we can structure this discussion. We are ready to take up this matter,” Rijiju said.
