‘Delhi ka Ghajini’ suits Arvind Kejriwal, not L-G’: BJP slams AAP on air pollution

The remarks come days after Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor wrote a detailed letter to former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, holding him and his party responsible for the national capital’s deteriorating air quality and poor infrastructure. In response, the AAP launched a poster attack on the LG, portraying him as “Delhi ka Ghajini.”

Speaking to IANS, Virendra Sachdeva said, “The LG has written a letter of around 15 pages. It is quite shocking for me that in the letter, the LG is reminding the Chief Minister of 2017–18 that pollution is a serious problem. However, the response at that time was even more shocking, as Arvind Kejriwal reportedly said that pollution lasts for only 15–20 days and should not be taken so seriously.”

He further alleged that Kejriwal had downplayed the issue by claiming that a few media houses and activists would raise the matter for a short period and that people would eventually forget about it.

“The government led by Arvind Kejriwal, which ruled Delhi for 12 years, has pushed the city into this miserable condition. Why should the BJP government, which has been in power for just 10 months, be held responsible for their misdeeds?” Sachdeva added.

Sachdeva said the current government was making sincere efforts to improve the situation after decades of neglect.

“My government is trying very hard to improve things after 27 years of bad governance. We are working on roads, infrastructure, and several measures to control pollution. At least our government is working. What they did was loot the national capital and destroy Delhi,” he said.

Taking a swipe at the AAP’s poster campaign, Sachdeva said the comparison with the character Ghajini was misplaced.

“I remember the character of Ghajini very well. He forgets everything. Even the poster used by AAP has mistakes. After losing the election, the person who has forgotten Delhi is Arvind Kejriwal. So the character of Ghajini suits him, not the LG. They should at least use a proper picture,” he said.

Meanwhile, air quality in the national capital showed marginal improvement on Friday but continued to remain in the “poor” category. A day earlier, the opposition AAP had stepped up its attack on Lieutenant Governor Saxena after he wrote to Kejriwal, recalling his earlier attempts to raise concerns about pollution when Kejriwal was the Chief Minister.

In the letter, Saxena stated that he had flagged the issue of pollution before Kejriwal, but his concerns were dismissed. According to the LG, Kejriwal had said, “Sir, this happens every year. The media raises it for 15–20 days. Activists and the courts make it an issue, and then everyone forgets. You too should not pay much attention to it.”

Reacting sharply, the AAP accused the LG of shifting blame instead of addressing the ongoing pollution crisis. In a cinematic jibe, the party shared an edited image of Saxena on social media platform X on Thursday.

The image showed Saxena’s face morphed onto a poster of the Aamir Khan-starrer Ghajini, a film whose protagonist suffers from short-term memory loss. The AAP alleged that the LG was forgetting that the BJP is currently in power in Delhi and that fixing the pollution crisis is its responsibility.

“L – Low Quality; G – Ghajini,” the AAP post read. The edited image also carried tattoos stating, “Kejriwal is responsible,” “Pollution in 2025,” and “AQI at 750,” further intensifying the political sparring over Delhi’s worsening air quality.