As Delhiites face toxic air quality for weeks now, scores of people protested at the iconic India Gate on Sunday evening amid high police deployment. Dozens of protesters were detained by the police as they said the people had gathered without prior permission.
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While protesters claimed they had been threatened by the police with FIRs, videos on social media showed cops bundling people in police vehicles.
Wearing gas masks, holding Constitution copies and carrying children, protesters thronged the India Gate before detentions by police drew reactions from scores of people, politicians as well as civil society members, including environmental activists.
As protesters took over India Gate, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the previous AAP-led government “made the air poisonous continuously for 10 years”, saying they are questioning the seven-month old CM Rekha Gupta-led government after being ousted.
“I want to tell people that, the Rekha Gupta government installed anti-smog guns on high rise buildings, has done dust mitigation with water sprinklers, we are monitoring all the ongoing constructions, we are ensuring only e-buses for public transport, also e-vehicles are being used to last-mile connectivity, but the damage of 10 years cannot be corrected in just 7 months… They are dishonest, spent the money only on ads… We are trying to improve the situation…,” Sirsa said in a video message.
Politicians, activists decry detention of protesters
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the Centre for targeting citizens protesting against rising air pollution, asserting that the “right to clean air” is a fundamental human right and that peaceful demonstrators should not be treated as criminals.
He accused the BJP of “vote chori” and apathy toward the worsening pollution crisis, urged immediate and decisive action to safeguard the health and future of millions of Indians.
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“The right to clean air is a basic human right. The right to peaceful protest is guaranteed by our Constitution. Why are citizens who have been peacefully demanding clean air being treated like criminals? Air pollution is affecting crores of Indians, harming our children and the future of our nation,” he said.
Head of the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Delhi unit, Saurabh Bharadwaj, said there is a trust deficit among the people, which is why well-educated and knowledgeable citizens joined the protest against poor air quality. He accused government agencies of fudging data and manipulating figures.
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“When a government itself tampers with data, it creates a trust deficit — and that’s why the intellectual community has taken to the streets today. That’s what is alarming. Pollution has existed for the last 10 years, but what’s alarming now is that the government is manipulating the data,” he told PTI.
‘Bacche saans nahi lete kya’
Many protesters were detained from India Gate, with one video from the demonstration drawing particular attention. It showed an exchange between a protester and cop who is escorting another person holding his child towards a police vehicle.
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In the clip, the man filming can be heard questioning the officer about detaining a child, to which the cop retorts angrily:
“Bache ko protest mein leke aaoge aap?” [Will you bring kids to the protest?], says the security personnel, to which someone from the crowd responds: “bacche saans nahi lete kya [do kids don’t breathe?].
Environmental activist Vimlendu Jha shared the video on social media, alleging that children were also being detained during the protest.
Watch the video here:
Police said approximately 60-80 people were detained from the protest site. “We only detained those who were blocking the Mansingh Road and were not allowing people and vehicles to pass,” said DCP (New Delhi) Devesh Kumar Mahla. He said the protest at Mansingh Road was being led by Delhi Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) President Saurabh Bharadwaj.
“The rest, who were inside India Gate, were directed to leave and removed,” DCP Mahla said.
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Additional DCP Anand Kumar Mishra had on Saturday denied permission for the protest in front of India Gate, citing security and traffic reasons, and asked protesters to move to Jantar Mantar.
Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari also joined the protest at India Gate, alleging that their request to meet Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was refused.
“So many mothers and parents are deeply concerned because there’s a troubling narrative right now — nobody is wearing masks, as you can see. There are marathons being held, schools are conducting sports days, and yet there is no advisory in place,” she said.
Kandhari added that GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) measures have not been fully implemented even as the Air Quality Index (AQI) touched severe and hazardous levels.
“We still have hope, and that’s why we’re here — mostly mothers, concerned parents, and citizens. There’s no hidden agenda; we’re all just parents. Many people here are holding inhalers and nebulizers, showing prescriptions. These are our emotions, our pain,” she added.
What Delhiites said in their demand for clean air
Several citizens expressed disappointment over the government’s handling of the clean air protest, which ended with the detention of dozens of people.
One citizen told ANI that despite people suffering, the government has not designed effective policies to address the crisis.
“The AQI is touching new heights. We are being evacuated and not allowed to protest peacefully here,” he said, accusing the government of ‘sprinkling water at data centres’ to manipulate air quality readings.
“Even cloud seeding didn’t work — that’s not a solution,” he added, demanding a permanent fix.
Another Delhi resident, identified as Neha, said that the issue of clean air has persisted for years with little action. She came to the protest with a copy of the Constitution.
“It’s a violation of our constitutional rights. We’ve been struggling with this for 10 years. No one cares about the health and rights of citizens. Peaceful protests are going on here, but people are being dragged and detained into buses,” she said, speaking to ANI news agency.
Delhi’s AQI has been between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ category for weeks now. On Monday, Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index slightly improved from a day earlier but remained in the ‘very poor’ level.
