‘Mocking a serious health issue’: BJP on AAP’s song as foul air emerges as political flashpoint

The song in the video— ‘Fraud tumhe kis mod pe le aaya’ — is dubbed to the tune of Kishore Kumar’s famous Bollywood number ‘Pyaar humein kis mod pe le aaya’. The video features performers dressed as Superman, Spiderman, Batman and Santa Claus, dancing with masks on their faces. In a statement, AAP said the clip was meant to show that “even Superman, Spiderman and Batman have fallen ill due to pollution”.

“Even Superman, Spiderman, Batman and Santa Claus, who came to visit Delhi, were shocked by the severe pollution,” AAP’s Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj said. He questioned how the Capital could be choking despite what is being dubbed as the “four-engine government,” in an apparent reference to the L-G and BJP-ruled Centre, government in the city and the MCD.

In the song, the AAP has accused the government of data manipulation. “Pollution has made even Superman, Spiderman and Batman fall ill. Medicines were not available in government hospitals,” he said, claiming they were forced to buy oxygen cylinders and medicines from outside. Flagging continued construction activity, he asked, “In the area of BJP minister Kapil Mishra, roads are being dug up. Is this how pollution will be stopped?”

The BJP responded by condemning the video. In a statement, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said Delhiites were “condemning Saurabh Bharadwaj for indulging in sarcasm and mockery on a serious issue like pollution”. He added the pollution crisis was the result of the negligence of Arvind Kejriwal’s governments in Delhi and Punjab.

Sachdeva claimed that no work was done on pollution control for over 10 years when AAP was in power, and even when Bharadwaj was Health Minister during the AAP’s tenure.