‘AQI, AQI’ Chants as Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is Booed at Messi’s Event
New Delhi: As Delhi continues to grapple with hazardous air quality, a section of the people gathered at the Arun Jaitley Stadium booed chief minister Rekha Gupta and raised slogans of “AQI, AQI” when she came on stage to welcome Argentine football star Lionel Messi on Monday (December 15) during the final leg of his GOAT India Tour.
Viral videos on social media show people chanting "AQI, AQI" while Gupta is on stage with Messi and his Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah and Indian football legend Bhaichung Bhutia.
International Shame
अंतरराष्ट्रीय बेइज़्ज़ती 🙈रेखा गुप्ता को देखते ही स्टेडियम में प्रदूषण से परेशान दिल्ली के लोग चीखे- AQI AQI AQI
Crowd for Messi shouts “AQI..AQI..” as soon as Delhi CM Rekha Gupta arrives pic.twitter.com/oUyc0yeTAJ
— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) December 15, 2025
In another video, people can be heard saying, "Rekha Gupta haye haye."
रेखा गुप्ता हाय हाय हाय- दिल्ली वालों ने लगाए ये नारे जब चाची पहुंची मैसी के स्टेडियम pic.twitter.com/oO4cHqvYOT
— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) December 15, 2025
At the event, speaking briefly in Spanish, Messi said, "Gracias Delhi! Hasta pronto (Thank you Delhi! See you soon)."
The Indian Express reported that Messi's charter flight, scheduled to arrive in the national capital at 10.45 am, landed nearly four hours later at 2.30 pm due to foggy conditions.
Also read: India’s Air Quality Row: How The Govt is Consistently Rejecting Data And Science
A day before the event, on Sunday (December 14), Delhi reportedly recorded the most polluted day of the season with an AQI of 461, the second worst AQI in December since 2015 when the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) began monitoring the air quality, the IE report noted.
On Saturday (December 13), authorities invoked GRAP-IV in the national capital at 6.30 pm after the AQI had steadily climbed to 441 by 6 pm. The AQI further climbed to 448 by 7 pm on the same day, according to the Union environment ministry.
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