I used to tell him the same: Javadekar on Kejri's plea to shed politics to tackle pollution

On Monday, Kejriwal requested Javadekar to hold monthly meetings with the chief ministers of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and UP to curb air pollution, saying there is a lack of political will to address the problem of stubble burning. In a virtual press briefing, he had said the affected states have been unable to find a solution to stop stubble burning and prevent air pollution.

After Arvind Kejriwal's appeal to all states to leave politics aside and join hands to tackle the problem of pollution in Delhi, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said he has been telling the chief minister the same thing. "I used to tell him (Kejriwal) the same thing," Javadekar said, when asked to comment on Kejriwal's remarks on states joining hands without any politics to curb pollution in the national capital.

The environment minister said pollution is a real problem and there has to be a proper solution to curb it. He said the central government has taken several steps with the help of five states of the northern region which have borne results.

Javadekar admitted that for some days, Delhi has to face the problem of severe pollution due to various reasons, including stubble burning in neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. On Monday, Kejriwal requested Javadekar to hold monthly meetings with the chief ministers of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and UP to curb air pollution, saying there is a lack of political will to address the problem of stubble burning.

In a virtual press briefing, he had said the affected states have been unable to find a solution to stop stubble burning and prevent air pollution. "I believe pollution due to stubble burning can be controlled in a short span of time. But a lack of political will is visible in doing that."