Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, launched a sharp attack on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of betraying Punjab farmers by failing to deliver on his promise to end stubble burning — a practice that triggers severe air pollution across north India every winter.

Gupta's Broadside on X

Taking to her official X account, Chief Minister Gupta shared a video of active stubble burning in Punjab's Tarn Taran district, using it to hold Kejriwal accountable for a pledge he had made when the AAP government came to power in the state. In her post, she wrote: 'Kejriwal ji had said, give me one year, and I'll stop the burning of stubble in Punjab. Years passed by. Farmers kept waiting for help, and the 'AAP'da government, instead of freeing them from the compulsion to burn stubble, just left them to fend for themselves.'

She further alleged that the Centre had provided adequate resources — funds, machinery, and subsidies — yet the AAP-led administration in Punjab had failed to translate that support into ground-level action. 'Resources were fully provided, but intent, willpower, and accountability — all three have failed,' Gupta added, also questioning whether Kejriwal was 'venting the frustration' of his electoral defeat in Delhi on the capital's residents.

The Broken Promise on Stubble Burning

Stubble burning — the practice of setting fire to paddy crop residue after harvest — is widely identified as a major contributor to the toxic smog that blankets Delhi-NCR each October and November. When AAP swept Punjab in the 2022 assembly elections, Kejriwal had publicly committed to ending the practice, citing it as a solvable governance problem. Critics, including Chief Minister Gupta, argue that neither Kejriwal nor Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has made sufficient progress on that commitment despite central support.

Notably, this is not the first time the Delhi government has blamed Punjab's ruling party for worsening the capital's air quality. The annual cycle of blame — between the Centre, Delhi, and Punjab — has persisted for years without a durable resolution.

CAQM Deploys Flying Squads Across 18 Punjab Districts

The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) has deployed flying squads across 18 districts in Punjab to monitor stubble burning incidents. The deployment runs from 1 October to 30 November 2026, covering the paddy harvesting season, and is structured in successive phases to ensure sustained field-level oversight.

The districts under watch include Sangrur, Tarn Taran, Firozpur, Muktsar, Bathinda, Amritsar, Moga, Mansa, Fazilka, Patiala, Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Faridkot, Barnala, Malerkotla, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, and Fatehgarh Sahib. The teams are mandated to coordinate with farmers, the Parali Protection Force, district authorities, state nodal officers, State Pollution Control Board officers, and the CAQM cell at SAS Nagar.

Delhi's Counter-Effort on Air Quality

Chief Minister Gupta asserted that her administration is working to roll out new anti-pollution measures on the ground in Delhi, contrasting it with what she described as a lack of preparation in Punjab. 'We are working day and night to roll out new solutions on the ground to clean up Delhi's air. Meanwhile, in Punjab, the fire from stubble burning has exposed the 'AAP'da government's true colours — no preparation, no solutions, just false promises and betrayal of the farmers,' she said.

With the winter pollution season now underway, all eyes will be on whether CAQM's flying squad deployment translates into a measurable reduction in farm fire incidents — and whether the political heat between Delhi and Punjab's governments gives way to any concrete inter-state cooperation.