Poisonous air: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi seeks national plan to fight pollution

NEW DELHI: Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday highlighted the growing air pollution crisis in India's major cities, urging the government to initiate a detailed discussion in the parliament and develop a systematic plan to address it. The congress leader asserted that the millions of children's futures are being destroyed as they are getting lung diseases.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said, "Most of our major cities are living under a blanket of poisonous air. Millions of children are getting lung diseases. Their future is being destroyed. People are getting cancer. Older people are struggling to breathe. This is an interesting issue because I'm certain that there will be full agreement between the government and us on this issue. This is not an ideological issue. Everybody in this house would agree that air pollution, the damage it is doing to our people, is something that we would like to cooperate on."

Emphasizing the need for collaborative action, Gandhi added that it would be good if everyone would have a detailed discussion, and then the Prime Minister put in place a plan for each city.

"It's important that the government develops a plan for how to get rid of air pollution in our cities. We are more than happy to cooperate with the government on developing such a plan. There are not many issues these days that the government and the entire opposition can agree on. I think the government should have a discussion in parliament. We should try not to make it a discussion where we are abusing you, and you are abusing us," Gandhi added. (ANI)

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