CM Rekha Gupta takes 'vipassana' jibe at Kejriwal; AAP chief says don't 'mock' meditation technique

New Delhi: AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said it was "unbecoming" of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to "mock" Vipassana meditation to criticise him.

In a post on X, Kejriwal said, "You harbour political enmity towards me. However, it does not behove you to mock the divine Vipassana meditation method taught by Lord Buddha in this manner." Attacking Kejriwal over his handling of pollution when he was the chief minister, Gupta said she would not leave Delhi and "run away" to practise vipassana to "cure his cough".

She shared a clip from her speech at an event held last week, in which she is speaking about tackling pollution.

"We are finding solutions to Delhi's pollution problem while living and working in Delhi. We are not like those who leave Delhi to its fate and run away every six months to do Vipassana," the chief minister said.

"My Delhi, my responsibility -- we are working with this spirit. The problem is here, the solution will also be found here in Delhi...," she said.

Both short-term and long-term measures are being implemented to control pollution, she said in a post accompanying the video.

Responding to Gupta's remarks, former chief minister Kejriwal said it was unbecoming of a CM to ridicule a divine meditation practice taught by Lord Buddha. Despite "political enmity", it does not behove a CM to mock vipassana, he said.

He urged her to practice Vipassana, saying it brings immense peace, and added that going for vipassana is not "running away" but something only the fortunate are blessed with.

AAP Delhi unit Saurabh Bharadwaj said while the chief minister may mock Arvind Kejriwal's cough, the entire city of Delhi was now suffering, citing warnings by health experts about the grave pollution situation.

Delhi's AQI was recorded in the 'severe' category at 461, the highest of the season. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 431 a day ago, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Expressing grave concern over the deteriorating air quality, Bharadwaj said that despite nearly one year of the BJP government being in office, the situation has reached an alarming level.

He said December was already half over and there was no stubble burning anywhere in the country -- not in Punjab, Haryana or elsewhere -- yet pollution levels were so high that haze and smog were visible even inside closed rooms.

Bharadwaj said the most "unfortunate aspect" was the absence of confidence among Delhi residents about who would take responsibility.

"The people of Delhi do not know whom to look towards with the hope that something will be done. Should they look towards a chief minister who cannot even pronounce AQI properly," he said.

He alleged that Gupta equates AQI with temperature, believes it can be measured by any instrument and thinks sprinkling water is the only way to reduce pollution.

Calling for course correction, Bharadwaj said experts should come forward, and Gupta should step back for some time.

Hitting out at AAP, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that undoubtedly, Delhi's pollution level has worsened in the last 2-3 days, but no local reason is responsible for this; rather, the Western Disturbance that has been prevalent across North India in the past few days, which has caused air movement to stop completely, is responsible.

He said such weather conditions occur every year in December since 2009, and it is regrettable that the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, which has been in power for the last 10 years, and the Congress, which was in power before that, are blaming the BJP.