Rahul Gandhi Urges Lok Sabha Debate on Air Pollution, Calls It National Health Crisis

Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi made an impassioned intervention in the Lok Sabha on Friday, urgently calling for a dedicated and in-depth debate on the escalating air pollution crisis gripping India, characterising it as a grave public health catastrophe that demands immediate cross-party attention and decisive action.

Rising during Zero Hour, Gandhi painted a stark picture of major Indian cities shrouded in toxic smog, warning that millions of children are contracting severe lung diseases that could irreversibly damage their futures, while elderly citizens face daily struggles to breathe and overall cancer incidences surge due to prolonged exposure to hazardous air quality.

The senior Congress leader deliberately framed the issue as one of the few areas where complete unanimity could emerge across the political divide, emphasising its non-ideological nature and the shared moral obligation of both the Treasury and Opposition benches to confront the crisis collectively and forge practical, effective remedies.

Also Read: BJP Calls Rahul “Leader of Partying”; Priyanka Hits Back Citing PM’s Foreign Trips

Gandhi appealed directly to the government to allocate dedicated parliamentary time for a thorough discussion, coupled with firm commitments to implement concrete policy measures, positioning air pollution as an existential threat to public health that transcends routine political rivalries and requires unified national resolve.

Responding promptly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju conveyed the government's openness to facilitating the proposed debate, confirming that the matter had already been flagged in the Business Advisory Committee and assuring that suitable timing would be arranged to enable a structured, solution-oriented exchange incorporating inputs from all sides of the House.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi: Idea Of Equal India Disturbs RSS, They Want Hierarchy