‘If pollution has increased, it will subside’: Yogi Adityanath defends bursting of firecrackers on Diwali

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday defended firecracker celebrations during Diwali, questioning why people were criticised over pollution while those responsible for wider damage to the system faced no similar scrutiny.

Speaking at an appointment letter distribution programme, Adityanath said pollution caused by bursting crackers could be addressed and argued that people should be allowed to celebrate festivals without restrictions.

"You celebrated Diwali and several people are saying that it caused pollution. I said, 'Don't worry; pollution would be mitigated as well'," he said.

"Nobody says anything to those who polluted the entire system with their corrupt misdeeds. But if the public burst crackers one day, it created pollution. If pollution happened, it would be mitigated as well. No problem."

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He added that people had celebrated Diwali with "dhoom-dhadaka" and said his government had decided against imposing restrictions. "I, too, was in the middle of fireworks in Ayodhya," he said.

The chief minister also targeted previous governments, claiming that festivals were often accompanied by communal riots before 2017.

"But this was not possible before 2017. Before 2017 whenever any festival arrived—whether it was Holi, Diwali, Vijayadashami, Janmashtami, Shivratri, Christmas, Eid, Guru Parv, or Makar Sankranti—riots would break out right before all of them," he said.

The remarks came during an event where Adityanath distributed appointment letters to 1,146 newly recruited junior assistants. He also released ₹215 crore in financial assistance to 4,300 beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri Kisan Durghatna Kalyan Yojana.

Speaking about employment, he said talented young people had earlier been forced to leave Uttar Pradesh because they could not find suitable opportunities.

"When talent did not find suitable opportunities, it would migrate elsewhere. The youth of Uttar Pradesh contributed their hard work to the nation and the world, yet UP remained impoverished—simply because they could not secure honest employment within the state," he said.

The comments come amid worsening air quality across several Indian cities ahead of Diwali on November 8. Thick smog covered Delhi and neighbouring areas, including Noida and Gurugram, with more than half of the capital's monitoring stations recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) above 400, in the severe category.