Govt thanks Baijal; Oppn says decision wasn’t wrong

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We have been able to clear all the doubts that the L-G had... Home isolation will now continue.

nNEW DELHI: The five-day mandatory institutional quarantine order by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Friday evoked sharp responses from across the political spectrum in Delhi with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) calling it a “dictatorial” decision. The order was, however, withdrawn on Saturday evening after the government held two meetings with Baijal.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia thanked the L-G in a tweet following the announcement. “We have been able to clear all the doubts that the L-G had regarding home isolation. Home isolation will now continue. We thank the L-G for this. Under the leadership of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, we will not allow any Delhi resident to suffer,” Sisodia said in a tweet in Hindi.

“In the same order, the L-G had discontinued the services of a private company which had been providing counselling to those under home isolation. For now, the service will continue till Monday. It will be discussed under

MANISH SISODIA, Delhi deputy CM

after the health department is ready with alternatives,” the deputy CM tweeted.

During the day, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh addressed a press conference and questioned why the L-G was formulating “different rules” for Delhi.

“The ICMR [Indian Council of Medical Research] guidelines being implemented throughout the country state that Covid positive patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms will be allowed to practice home isolation. Why are different rules being formulated for Delhi? This is a dictatorial decision,” he said.

Earlier this month, the L-G had disagreed with the state government’s decision allowing only Delhi residents Covid-19 treatment at Delhi government-run hospitals and private ones. Baijal had overruled the Delhi government’s order and instructed hospitals to accept all patients.

Referring to the 503 railway coaches deployed as isolation wards across nine stations in Delhi, Singh said these coaches were not in a good condition. “They are like hot furnaces without any air-conditioning. It is not feasible to live there at 47 degree celsius,” he said.

But Delhi Congress president Anil Chaudhary said the removal of home isolation had been a repeated demand of his party. “We had suggested the government and L-G that home isolation is not possible for marginalised people. But the government has to make sure there are adequate facilities at quarantine centres so that people don’t suffer,” he said.

During the day, BJP Delhi President Adesh Gupta said the L-G’S order was necessary because there were many families in Delhi which stay in one or two-room houses.

“In such a scenario, home isolation can be dangerous and can put others living in that house at risk. This is why L-G took the decision,” he said.