Manohar Parrikar has been targeted by opposition parties for his statements after surgical strikes
In a critique of the smog-wrapped national capital, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has observed that both Delhi's air and its politics are toxic.
"Look at pollution in Delhi. You are not sure if your flight will take off. But that pollution will go away. Delhi's real pollution is political pollution. That has to go," the minister told reporters in Rajasthan's Udaipur, where he is attending a function.
Mr Parrikar, mostly outspoken, has been the target of continuous attack from opposition parties for his statements after the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the Line of Control last month.
Recently, the rivals have also attacked him over the implementation of the government's one-rank-one-pension or OROP scheme after a retired soldier killed himself allegedly over not having received his enhanced pension.
The defence minister has said that 95 per cent retired defence personnel have benefited from OROP and that outstanding issues would be resolved in the next two months.
The Aam Aadmi Party, with rules Delhi, has been at the forefront of the OROP attack on Mr Parrikar, accusing him of "lying," and the Defence Minister's dig today is seen as a counter-attack.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal's government in Delhi has its back to the wall as it battles the poisonous smog that has been hanging low over the capital since Diwali.
AAP and Mr Parrikar's party, the BJP, face-off next year in elections in Goa, of which Manohar Parrikar was chief minister till he shifted to Delhi as Defence Minister two years ago.
Many saw his induction into one of the top five ministries in the union cabinet as an out-of-turn promotion.