Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday waded into the ongoing political blame game between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party over the declining air quality in the national capital. Speaking to agencies in the state capital Patna on Saturday, Kumar said that the blame for the prevailing foul and toxic air pervading Delhi and NCR should be put on its surrounding states. “The neighbouring states have to shoulder the blame for the prevailing situation in Delhi with regards to air quality. There is no doubt about it,” the Bihar CM said.

The Janata Dal (United) chief further said he had been working to convince the people of Bihar to shun or give up “parali” (stubble) burning since 2018. “I have tried to convince the people of my state not to burn stubble,” Kumar told. Meanwhile, the air quality in the national capital continued to remain in the “severe” category for the third straight day, on Saturday. However, a slight improvement was noted in Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI), which stood at 431 on Saturday morning from 472 the previous day.