India, Jan. 10 -- A sharp political exchange marked a marathon discussion spanning over three hours on air pollution in the Delhi Legislative Assembly on Friday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government mounting a data-heavy defence of its record while targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for what it called a decade of inaction.

Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa set the tone for the debate and said the government would confront the crisis head-on. "We will not run away from pollution. We will fight it, confront it, and eliminate it," he told the House.

The counter by the Opposition was led by former environment minister Gopal Rai who alleged that pollution levels would fall if the BJP simply continued the AAP's...