Defying the Supreme Court’s order of a complete ban on firecrackers in Delhi and NCR, amid deteriorating air quality, people across the national capital celebrated Diwali on Sunday. A thick layer of smog engulfed Delhi after people burst crackers on Diwali night, leading to heavy pollution all across the city.

However, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra said “these are voices of freedom and democracy”.

“Proud of You Delhi. These are voices of resistance , voices of freedom and democracy. People are bravely defying unscientific, illogical , dictatorial ban. Happy Diwali,” the Delhi BJP vice president wrote on social media X on Sunday night.

Raising concerns over the deteriorating air pollution in Delhi, Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale accused BJP MPs and ministers of violating the ban “in the heart of the capital”.

“Thanks Delhi (especially the BJP MPs & Ministers who live down the street) for the last 6 hours of non-stop fireworks. Don’t understand the point of a ‘ban’ when ruling party leaders themselves are violating it in the heart of the capital. AQI has hit 999 – machines can’t calculate beyond that,” Gokhale posted on X.

“Hope that putting people through suffering & infections made this festival season a bit more cheerful for BJP netas,” he added.

Visuals from Lodhi Road and Punjabi Bagh showed fireworks lighting up the night sky across several areas in the national capital. People in Nangloi were also spotted lighting firecrackers amid the festivities, news agency ANI reported.

Earlier, in a bid to rein in the city’s rising pollution graph and prevent the air quality from worsening further, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government had imposed a complete ban on firecrackers, an official release from the Government of NCT of Delhi stated.

“Pollution rises significantly during winters in Delhi; instructions are given to impose a complete ban on the manufacture, storage, sale, and bursting of firecrackers,” environment minister Gopal Rai said in a press release.

The announcement came after the Supreme Court directed the Delhi government to arrive at a definitive decision on the implementation of the ‘Odd-Even’ vehicle rationing scheme. The court, however, refrained from taking a decision itself, as it left the matter in the hands of the Delhi government.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR-India), the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital, at 9.18pm on Diwali night, was recorded at 197 ‘moderate’.

But on Sunday morning, the average AQI was around 300 in most places in Delhi, data collected by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed. The PM2.5 and PM10 pollutant levels touched 500 at most places during the day, including in Rohini, ITO, and Delhi airport area.