He told PTI in an interview that parties that are still thinking of 'being the leader' of a possible united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls have not understood the gravity of the situation at all.
The Delhi government has been following the practice of banning all kinds of firecrackers for the last three years.
An improvement in the wind speed November 21 onwards might bring air pollution levels down.
Delhi BJP vice president Kapil Mishra hailed people for defying the cracker ban.
'Kejriwal could have easily deputed someone to step in as chief minister, but being the authoritative and self-centered personality that he is, he chose not to do it.' 'If the AAP loses Delhi, where it has a huge majority, the only one to blame would be Kejriwal,' asserts Ramesh Menon.
The Aam Aadmi Party has alleged that 80 per cent of its leaders were arrested by Delhi police since Sunday, and questioned whether anyone can be detained for more than 24 hours.
If Kejriwal is arrested, it will take very little for Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena to summon a meeting of the assembly, direct it to elect a new leader of the House, and, if it doesn't, dissolve it and impose President's Rule, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 420 at 8 am on Thursday, compared to 426 at 4 pm on Wednesday. The AQI map prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board showed clusters of red dots (indicating hazardous air quality) spread across the Indo-Gangetic plains.
The air quality is expected to improve further due to wind speed favourable for the dispersion of pollutants.
With Delhi recording air pollution levels seven to eight times above safe standards on Monday, the city government announced the return of its flagship odd-even scheme after four years anticipating further deterioration of air quality post-Diwali.
The poisonous haze has been causing significant problems for people with existing respiratory issues, according to doctors.
The development comes after the resignation of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, the key faces of the city government and were instrumental in steering the national capital through the COVID-19 crisis.
At least four Opposition leaders on Tuesday claimed to have received messages from Apple warning them of "State-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise" their iPhones and posted the purported screenshots on their X handles.
This time, Delhi saw a sharp improvement in air quality just ahead of Diwali which can be attributed to intermittent rainfall on Friday and wind speed favourable for the dispersion of pollutants.
The sustainable impact of this process is under scrutiny, Tripathi added.
As per the allegations, some parts of Delhi also had posters with the caption Modi Hatao Desh Bachao.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a case linked to the now scrapped Delhi excise policy and wrote to the central agency demanding the "recall" of its summons to him, calling it "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law".
With the arrest of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy scam case, uncertainty looms over several critical Delhi government projects, including streetscaping and traffic decongestion plans, ahead of the G20 summit.
After a meeting of the AAP's highest decision making body -- political affairs committee (PAC) -- at party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in New Delhi, Chadha also welcomed the Congress' decision to oppose in Parliament the Centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi.
AAP workers, nervous but hopeful, had their eyes glued to LED screens throwing the latest counting trends.
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Delhi police not to issue temporary licences for sale and storage of any kind of firecrackers, saying when the city government has banned all firecrackers no distinction can be made on the basis of whether it is green or not.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia holds as many as 18 of the total 33 departments, including education, finance and home.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with the Delhi government's order putting a comprehensive ban on manufacturing, storage, sale and bursting of firecrackers in the city, saying people's health is important.
The BJP released a sting video shot purportedly by a former AAP volunteer from north west Delhi's Rohini to allege the AAP sold tickets for Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls.
As the air pollution in Delhi-NCR ameliorated over the last two days, the Centre's air quality panel Sunday directed authorities to lift the ban on plying of non-BS VI diesel light motor vehicles in the region and the entry of trucks into the capital imposed under the final stage of the Graded Response Action Plan.
The water level of the Yamuna reached 205.92 metres at 4 pm on Monday and remained above the danger mark of 205.33 metres, officials said.
An organisational overhaul in Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party is afoot in the light of the party's defeat in the MCD election, the party leaders said on Thursday.
Singh alleged that the BJP was attempting to "defame" Delhi CM, claiming that all attempts to bring a bad name to Kejriwal and his party will fail.
"He is lodged in the prison in connection with a rape case and sections of the Pocso Act. Rinku is not a physiotherapist," the sources said.
Braving the heat, hundreds of protesters, including women and children, gathered at the Jantar Mantar to protest against the killings of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley.
The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi stood at 398 at 11 am, worsening from 357 at 4 pm on Friday. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday and 312 on Monday (Diwali).
Bharadwaj said it has not rained in Delhi in the last 3-4 days, yet still the water level in Yamuna reached 208.66 metres.
Production, storage and sale of firecrackers in the capital will be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 5,000 and three years jail under Section 9B of the Explosives Act, the minister told a press conference in New Delhi.
In view of an 'improvement' in the air quality, the Delhi government has decided to resume physical classes in schools, colleges and other educational institutions and reopen government offices from November 29, environment minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday.
An elated Aam Aadmi Party after winning the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls on Thursday vowed to improve civic amenities in the national capital while the Bharatiya Janata Party thanked voters for "recognising" its work as it took solace in securing over a hundred seats despite exit poll predicting its rout.
The Delhi high court on Friday set aside the one-year suspension of BJP lawmaker Vijender Gupta from the Delhi legislative assembly and permitted him to attend the remaining budget session while directing him to maintain the dignity of the House.
Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Monday said the ban on construction and demolition activities in Delhi will continue till further orders in view of the high air pollution levels.
The Delhi government has banned construction and demolition activities in the city till November 21.
Acentral panel directed authorities to ban the plying of 4-wheeled diesel LMVs in Delhi and adjoining NCR districts and the entry of trucks into the capital.
The central air quality panel had on Friday allowed authorities in Delhi-NCR to resume physical classes for students in classes 6 and above, colleges and other educational institutions with immediate effect.
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