NEW DELHI: A political row erupted in the capital on Tuesday BJP-led Delhi government was accused of “committing fraud in the name of rain” by AAP, along with other jabs from opposition, following its much-publicised cloud seeding experiment, which failed to produce any rainfall.
Delhi conducted the cloud seeding trials for the first time in 53 years to induce artificial rain as pollution levels spiked and the weather office ruled out the possibility of natural showers. The exercise was carried out over several parts of the city, including Burari, north Karol Bagh, Mayur Vihar and Badli, with more rounds planned in the coming days, officials said.
However, AAP leaders claimed that no rainfall was recorded anywhere in Delhi on Tuesday, citing data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). “The BJP government is claiming to have carried out artificial rainfall, but not a single drop fell anywhere in the city,” said AAP’s Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj. “It seems even Lord Indra is upset with the BJP,” he added, accusing the government of “trying to take credit even for divine work.”
Bharadwaj said the BJP might “hold a press conference and claim credit if it actually rains later,” remarking that “Lord Indra won’t come down to clarify who caused the rain.” He also alleged that the government had paid contractors for a failed exercise, calling the experiment a “big fraud.”
Bharadwaj gave another statement saying, "We wrote letters in 2022, 2023, and 2024 to arrange for artificial rain in Delhi, but in December 2024, three central government agencies provided their expert opinion. After that, we never again requested artificial rain. However, now the BJP government in Delhi has squandered public tax money on this farce."
Former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal also took a dig and said, "In fact, all the engines of this government have failed. This government itself is completely failed."
Local AAP MLAs Kuldeep Kumar (Kondli) and Sanjeev Jha (Burari) also confirmed that their constituencies saw no rainfall.
Chief minister Rekha Gupta had earlier said the experiment was part of the government’s efforts to tackle Delhi’s severe pollution problem. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa defended the trial, saying it aimed to test a new mixture developed by IIT Kanpur that could potentially trigger rainfall even at humidity levels as low as 10–15 per cent.
“Historical data shows that rain happens at 50 per cent humidity. If this experiment succeeds, it will be historic,” Sirsa said.
Delhi conducted the cloud seeding trials for the first time in 53 years to induce artificial rain as pollution levels spiked and the weather office ruled out the possibility of natural showers. The exercise was carried out over several parts of the city, including Burari, north Karol Bagh, Mayur Vihar and Badli, with more rounds planned in the coming days, officials said.
However, AAP leaders claimed that no rainfall was recorded anywhere in Delhi on Tuesday, citing data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). “The BJP government is claiming to have carried out artificial rainfall, but not a single drop fell anywhere in the city,” said AAP’s Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj. “It seems even Lord Indra is upset with the BJP,” he added, accusing the government of “trying to take credit even for divine work.”
Bharadwaj said the BJP might “hold a press conference and claim credit if it actually rains later,” remarking that “Lord Indra won’t come down to clarify who caused the rain.” He also alleged that the government had paid contractors for a failed exercise, calling the experiment a “big fraud.”
Bharadwaj gave another statement saying, "We wrote letters in 2022, 2023, and 2024 to arrange for artificial rain in Delhi, but in December 2024, three central government agencies provided their expert opinion. After that, we never again requested artificial rain. However, now the BJP government in Delhi has squandered public tax money on this farce."
हमने साल 2022, 2023 और 2024 में दिल्ली में Artificial Rain कराने के लिए पत्र लिखा लेकिन दिसंबर 2024 में केंद्र सरकार की तीन एजेंसियों ने अपना Expert Opinion दिया। इसके बाद हमने कभी भी Artificial Rain कराने के लिए नहीं कहा।
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) October 29, 2025
लेकिन अब दिल्ली की BJP सरकार ने जनता के Tax के रुपये… pic.twitter.com/vnLVPgzeJ4
Former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal also took a dig and said, "In fact, all the engines of this government have failed. This government itself is completely failed."
Local AAP MLAs Kuldeep Kumar (Kondli) and Sanjeev Jha (Burari) also confirmed that their constituencies saw no rainfall.
Chief minister Rekha Gupta had earlier said the experiment was part of the government’s efforts to tackle Delhi’s severe pollution problem. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa defended the trial, saying it aimed to test a new mixture developed by IIT Kanpur that could potentially trigger rainfall even at humidity levels as low as 10–15 per cent.
“Historical data shows that rain happens at 50 per cent humidity. If this experiment succeeds, it will be historic,” Sirsa said.
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