New Delhi, India | December 12, 2025
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, strongly addressed the deepening air pollution crisis across India’s major cities on Friday. He called for immediate, collaborative action from the government, urging a detailed parliamentary discussion to develop a systematic national plan.
The Human Cost: ‘Futures Being Destroyed’
Gandhi emphasized the severe health consequences currently facing the populace, framing the crisis as an urgent threat to future generations.
“Most of our major cities are living under a blanket of poisonous air. Millions of children are getting lung diseases. Their future is being destroyed. People are getting cancer. Older people are struggling to breathe,” Gandhi stated in the Lok Sabha.
A Rare Opportunity for Bipartisan Consensus
The Congress leader highlighted that air pollution represents one of the few issues where the government and opposition can achieve full agreement, stressing its non-ideological nature.
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Focus on Cooperation: Gandhi underscored that this issue demands unity, noting, “There are not many issues these days that the government and the entire opposition can agree on.”
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Need for Constructive Debate: He appealed for a departure from political mudslinging, urging members to participate in a discussion that demonstrates to the country that “the best minds are going to be put into place to solve this issue.”
Demand for a City-Specific Strategy
Gandhi stressed that discussion must lead to concrete, executable policy. He called on the Prime Minister to institute a comprehensive, long-term approach.
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Systematic Plan Required: “It’s important that the government develops a plan for how to get rid of air pollution in our cities,” he asserted.
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Long-Term Goals: Gandhi sought a “methodical, systematic plan on how, within the next five or ten years, maybe we cannot resolve the problem, but how we are going to address the problem and make life for our people easier.“
Government Response
In response to the Leader of the Opposition’s concerns, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju assured the House that the government is ready and open to discussion.
“The government, from day one, had made our position very clear that on all important matters, the government is ready to discuss and also to find a solution, taking along the suggestions from all the members,” Rijiju confirmed.
The parliamentary appeal comes as public concern escalates, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) in several regions, particularly Delhi-NCR, frequently reading above 300, classifying the air quality as ‘very poor.’
