Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor (LG), Vinai Kumar Saxena, has a great ‘sense of humour’. A few days back he wrote a ‘great’ letter to former chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, which was full of ‘funny jokes’ and had me laughing to no end. He tried to tell Kejriwal that air pollution, which has engulfed the national capital for the last two months, is not because of any other reason as speculated by environmentalists and pollution experts but due to the 10-year rule of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi.
I instantly agreed with him and enjoyed his ‘great’ wisdom and ‘humour’, and immediately sent an imaginary message through WhatsApp to my dear old friend Arvind and congratulated him for this great achievement. I don’t know how he responded but I am sure he must have been greatly amused.
Mr Funny Bones
Saxena is a ‘funny’ man, no doubt, but I did not know that he could be so ‘ridiculous’. He has been LG of Delhi for more than three years, and he should know by now that air pollution in Delhi is killing people. And instead of accusing Kejriwal, he should be pulling up the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, as he used to do on a daily basis when the AAP was at the helm of affairs in Delhi. He was in the government and was also the Opposition.
What a defunct Opposition in Delhi could not do, Saxena did single-handedly. He was the one person who almost made the AAP government non-functional and immobile. He ensured that no scheme of the AAP government that could benefit the people of Delhi, could be operational.
In fact, I was told by a very senior functionary in the AAP government that he categorically told Kejriwal that Saxena would not let him win the Assembly elections. That, ultimately, proved to be true.
But now, when the AAP is no longer in the government, and the BJP is holding the fort, Saxena is a changed man. He is rarely seen in public supervising government activities as he used to do earlier. He no longer criticises the CM—i.e. Rekha Gupta, or her government—like he used to do on a daily basis earlier with Kejriwal.
During Kejriwal’s time he was hyperactive, as if he was the government and Kejriwal a mere puppet. Since February, when the BJP formed the government, he has all but disappeared from the scene, becoming almost invisible. Though as the LG, Saxena is still part of the government, incharge of the police, public order and land. But he now has become quiet.
A Changed Man
When Delhi is reeling under the torturous spell of air pollution, when Delhi has turned into a gas chamber, instead of advising Rekha Gupta on how to deal with this crisis and suggesting measures, he is weaving a narrative for her to find a way out of the people’s anger by blaming the AAP's 10 years' government for the present pollution crisis.
In the 15-page letter he has written to Kejriwal, the LG has alleged it was "the inaction of his government in 11 years which is primarily responsible for the severe condition of air pollution in the national capital region." He courageously wrote, “You are trying to unnecessarily bog down the (BJP) government of 10 months, which is trying to do everything possible to undo your wrong, for petty political gains.“
Saxena should be reminded that he is trying to shield a chief minister who seemingly does not know what the air quality index (AQI) is.
Rekha Gupta’s reply to a question by a mediaperson on AQI is not only pathetic but also speaks of her ignorance about the subject. When she was asked about the water spraying to control pollution, she said, “AQI is a kind of temperature measurement that can be detected using any instrument. So watering is the only solution for it. That is why we are doing—just as the previous government did—and it is done at the hot spots where pollution is highest.” This shows she has no idea what AQI is.
Saxena should take some time out from his not-so-busy schedule these days and teach the CM what AQI is, and how air pollution is killing people, to make her understand the enormity of the issue. He instead found an easy way out by writing a letter to the former CM to deflect the issue. In this also, he failed miserably.
I still remember when Kejriwal, after becoming the CM in 2015, tried to implement the 'odd-even' scheme to control vehicular movement in the city to deal with the emergency situation arising due to air pollution, it was the same BJP which mocked and made fun of him. Now the same BJP is in the government, but instead of taking any serious steps, is trying to manipulate AQI data by ‘water spraying near air quality monitoring stations.’
Newslaundry quoted environmental activist Vimlendu Jha who said, “If water is sprayed near an air quality monitor, the recorded pollution levels will appear lower." He further said, ”Nearly 40 percent of Delhi’s air pollution is caused by dust particles. Watering near the monitor suppresses that dust, reducing the data artificially…the reading will definitely go down…By doing this, the government can manipulate data and protect its image.”
Dual Tone
If Kejriwal had done something like this, the sky would have fallen out, and the LG would have gone to town to make mincemeat of him. But now Mr Saxena is silent, he has not uttered a word. As an LG, he should have written a letter to Rekha Gupta, who has been indulging in unconstitutional tomfoolery and hoodwinking people at large by manipulating AQI data. But he did not.
That raises a serious question mark about the LG's impartiality, honesty and neutrality as the Constitutional head of the Delhi government.
Mr Saxena, by writing a letter to Kejriwal and accusing him of being the cause of pollution in Delhi, just because he was in the government for 10 years, has also turned an unwitting finger towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Let’s not forget, pollution is not just a Delhi phenomenon, as some TV channels and senior journalists are trying to establish; it is a pan-India problem.
Delhi is part of the larger inaction of the Modi government. For more than 11 years, he is the PM, and he should be asked first what action he has taken to deal with this Frankenstein's monster.
As per Lancet magazine, approximately 15-17 lakh people are dying every year due to air pollution in India, and around 70 lakh around the world. A British Medical Journal study is more alarming. It puts the death toll due to air pollution at approximately 22 lakh in India. In 2024, among the 20 most polluted cities in the world, 13 are from India. Among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world in late 2025, the top seven cities are from India, led by Narkatiaganj. Other cities are Ghazipur, Gorakhpur, Khairabad, Khalilabad, Bettiah, and Jalandhar.
On the day of writing (25 December), the top 10 most polluted cities in India are Karnal, Panipat, Greater Noida, Saharanpur, Cuttack, Khurja, Papua, Kaimla, Ghaziabad, and Puri, and the AQI is in the range of 398 to 361.
And, if one carefully observes, all the cities belong to the BJP-ruled states. So, will Mr Saxena dare write a letter to PM Modi to complain about the pollution stats? Kejriwal seems an easier option.
(The writer is an author and former spokesperson of AAP. He can be reached at @ashutosh83B. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)