As the Capital reeled under a spate of vector-borne diseases — with four deaths being reported from chikungunya — Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came under fresh attack from the BJP for underlining that the State government is incapacitated without the power “to even buy a pen”.

The BJP alleged that the AAP and Kejriwal are too busy campaigning in poll-bound States such as Pujab and Goa to pay attention to what is happening in the city.

Delhi’s Health Minister Satyender Jain came back from Goa this afternoon to face the charge that he had neglected his duties.

Kejriwal stressed that while the Centre, through the offices of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, has usurped all the power, they pass the buck when responsibility has to be taken for what is happening in the city.

The Delhi CM, who himself returned from Punjab yesterday, said Jung and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be “questioned” over the issue, as the powers rest with them.

“CM n min left wid no power now, even to buy a pen. LG n PM enjoy all powers wrt Del. LG abroad. Question them for Del,” he tweeted.

Missing in action

As the city reels under a major health crisis, virtually the entire Delhi Cabinet is missing from action as ministers including Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Gopal Rai and Imran Hussain are not in town. While the Chief Minister is scheduled to undergo a throat surgery in Bengaluru today, his deputy Sisodia is in Finland to study its education system.

Rai is in Chhattisgarh and Hussain is on Haj pilgrimage. Only Water Minister Kapil Mishra is stationed here.

The BJP, on its part, accused Kejriwal of being a “total failure”.

“It is a very sorry state of affairs that Arvind Kejriwal, who is the Chief Minister of Delhi, refuses to answer pertinent question regarding the health of the capital of this country,” said BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra.

“If you do not have the capacity to even buy a piece of pen as you are suggesting, why don’t you resign? If you say that you have no role as the Chief Minister of Delhi, why the paraphernalia of a chief minister’s office, ministers and crores of rupees being spent on MLAs and Chief Minister?” Patra asked.

He also questioned the expenditure on AAP ministers’ foreign trips and questioned why ministers are out of the State when people need them the most.

The war of words between the BJP, which is in power in all the municipal bodies in the city as also the Centre, and Kejriwal, raged as suffering patients lined outside overcrowded hospitals in the city. While chikungunya is non-fatal, patients with severe and advanced condition are suffering for want of proper healthcare.

According to municipal corporation statistics, the Capital has reported 1,158 dengue cases, 1,058 chikungunya and 21 malaria cases.

Three persons have died due to chikungunya in Delhi. While one death was reported yesterday, two more fatalities were recorded today. The dengue and malaria toll stand at nine and two respectively.

The AAP has contended that the city corporation, which is responsible for post-monsoon preventive measures such as fumigation, garbage removal and cleaning of stagnant water and drains, has not been undertaking any of these routine tasks.

Moreover, as per the Delhi High Court, the administrative head of Delhi is now the Lt Governor, through whom the Centre is ruling Delhi, it added.

Related Topics