‘India’s children are choking’: Rahul Gandhi demands action plan, questions PM’s silence on Delhi pollution

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday demanded a discussion on air pollution in Delhi in Parliament during the Winter Session of Parliament starting on December 1 even as he questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the "health emergency" emerging from the situation.

He also demanded a "strict and enforceable" action plan to tackle air pollution, as he hosted a group of mothers at his residence and held a discussion on the issue.

Sharing a video of his interaction with them, he said on 'X', "every mother I meet tells me the same thing: her child is growing up breathing toxic air. They are exhausted, scared and angry. "Modi ji, India's children are choking in front of us. How can you stay silent? Why does your government show no urgency, no plan, no accountability?"

"India needs an immediate, detailed Parliament debate on air pollution and a strict, enforceable action plan to tackle this health emergency. Our children deserve clean air - not excuses and distractions," he added.

In the video, Rahul claimed that the reason that there is pollution is because there are stakeholders who benefit from it and "to put it bluntly they are more powerful than you are".

"Now when you are talking of political will, consequences of this power affect political will. If you have 500 to 1000 commercial units who are polluting Delhi, they have political power and the problem is that the average citizen is not organised at all. So, he has no political power," he said.

Many people in India do not have the means to deal with air pollution unlike those who were meeting him, he said adding, "you can go to the doctor, but there are many who don't... The pollution problem is the tip of the sphere. I am more than happy to help you because I think it is important. I breathe the same air and it is terrible. My niece and nephew grew up with it. You can't escape it, there is no way."

One of the participants suggested that Parliament should debate the issue, to which Gandhi responded, "there would be a fair goal to let us have a debate on air pollution in Parliament." Another claimed there are around 500 children under five years who die every day in India because of air pollution and yet this has never been an emergency.