Oppn sets off ‘insiders vs outsiders’ debate on CM’S health care comment
NEWDELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday accused Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of “hating” people of Bihar and the Purvanchali community. The charge comes after Kejriwal on Sunday said patients from Bihar were availing free medical treatment in the capital.
The AAP hit back saying that the BJP’S allegations were baseless and was making an issue as it did not have anything to highlight before the assembly elections scheduled for next year.
The Purvanchal community plays a decisive role in Delhi elections and is considered to have had a major role in AAP’S spectacular performance in the 2015 assembly elections.
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said that the Kejriwal had singled out Biharis and showed his “deep rooted hatred for Biharis or purvanchalis”.
“What he (Kejriwal) said just shows his deep rooted hatred for Biharis or purvanchalis and people from other states. If a person from Bihar comes here for treatment, then why is it bothering him so much? The Bjp-led central government has already made treatment worth ₹5 lakh free under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. But Kejriwal has not implemented it here,” said Tiwari.
“If Kejriwal has any personal and political enmity with me, he may say anything directly. Why humiliate people from Bihar, UP and other states by flaunting health services of his government. ”
Speaking at an event on Sunday, Kejriwal cited the example of “patients from Bihar” while expressing concern over the pressure on government hospitals in Delhi due to patients coming from across the country to avail free medical treatment. The CM said this while explaining the reason for long queues in Delhi government hospitals.
Kejriwal had said that a person from Bihar comes with ₹500 to the city and avail the free of cost treatment provided by the Delhi government.
Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel and leader of the opposition in Delhi assembly Vijender Gupta also hit out at Kejriwal on the issue.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, “In Delhi,bjp is leaderless because all the three major leaders are fighting with each other to become the chief ministerial face. The BJP doesn’t have any issue to fight and this is why they are making an issue out of nothing.”
Singh lashed out at the BJP for alleging that AAP and Delhi CM had insulted the people of Bihar. “AAP’S state president is from Purvanchal, we have ministers who are from Purvanchal and we have 13 MLAS who are from Purvanchal. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made a simple statement that the people from the UP and Bihar come to Delhi for better treatment because the Delhi government has improved the health sector of the state,” said Singh.
He added, BJP is the party that has thrown people from UP and Bihar from states ruled by it, whether it was Gujarat or through National Register of Citizens RC in Assam. But then no one talked about it from the BJP.”