Kiran Bedi Appeals to PM Modi, Unveils Detailed Ground-Action Plan to Tackle Delhi Pollution

Former Puducherry Lieutenant Governor and ex-IPS Officer Kiran Bedi on Saturday launched a blistering attack on Delhi’s “remote-controlled” handling of the air pollution crisis, pleading once again with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally intervene and declaring the capital’s toxic smog a “public-health emergency that can no longer be managed from sanitized meeting rooms.”

In a series of viral posts on X, Bedi, who was once the BJP’s Chief Ministerial face for Delhi in 2015, wrote: “Governance can’t be remote-controlled… It must stand in the dust, breathe the same air, and act with urgency.” Recalling Modi’s effective Zoom-led national missions during her tenure in Puducherry, she urged the PM to chair a 100-day “Pollution War Room” himself, insisting his direct involvement would “reassure gasping citizens.”

Bedi lambasted decades of blame-shifting and systemic inaction, stating, “The nation’s air pollution crisis is not an accident of the present; it is the outcome of decades without true coordination in governance.”

Also Read: Cyclone Ditwah Cripples Tamil Nadu Travel Network With Widespread Cancellations

Her hard-hitting 10-point blueprint demands:

• PMO-led unified command over MoEFCC, CAQM, states, NCR municipal bodies, DDA, PWD, and police
• Immediate ban on all non-essential construction till March 2026
• Mandatory PUC checks at every fuel station with on-the-spot fines
• Conversion of 5,000 diesel autos to CNG/LPG every month with subsidised loans
• 2 lakh trees planted along arterial roads in 60 days to create “Green Corridors”
• Strict odd-even without exemptions except women drivers and medical emergencies
• High-volume air purifiers at 100 of the worst traffic junctions
• Daily 6 pm public briefing by a senior officer on action taken
• “Mask for Every Child” in government schools
• Most provocatively—senior officials and ministers must spend two hours daily, maskless, at pollution hotspots like Anand Vihar, ITO, and R.K. Puram to “feel what Delhiites are breathing.”

Bedi stressed that “the best sensitization is to come out daily from AC enclosures and walk the streets—not drive.” She echoed Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s recent courtroom frustration, saying judicial forums cannot wield a “magic wand” without executive will.

As Delhi’s AQI hovered at 316 (“very poor”) on Saturday with forecasts of no relief next week, Bedi’s posts triggered #DelhiCantBreatheAgain and #KiranBediSpeaks, striking a chord with millions choking in the capital. Her call for visible, accountable leadership on the ground has intensified pressure on both central and state governments as the winter smog season reaches dangerous new peaks.

Also Read: Emotional Exit: Rajesh Gupta Leaves AAP and Joins BJP , Accuses Kejriwal of Betrayal