India, Oct. 22 -- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday hit back at Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and other BJP leaders for blaming paddy stubble burning in Punjab for the spike in pollution levels in the national capital.

While Delhi's air quality index was 341 on Wednesday, Mandi Gobindgarh was the most polluted place in Punjab with an AQI of 295. It was followed by 268 in Jalandhar, 243 each in Amritsar and Ludhiana, 241 in Khanna, 232 each in Rupnagar and Patiala.

Punjab AAP spokesperson Neel Garg said stubble burning in Punjab had declined by 75% this year, yet Sirsa was blaming the state's farmers for worsening air quality in Delhi, which topped the chart as the world's most polluted metro. "Punjab's AQI is far...