Avoid blame game, coordinate to fight chikungunya: Centre to AAP government

Amid a major row over chikungunya-related deaths in the national capital, the Centre on Thursday urged the Delhi government to desist from "blame game" even as opposition Congress, BJP and the Swaraj Abhiyan slammed the city government.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda in an interview to English news channel 'Times Now' said the central government and Delhi government need to work in a coordinated manner.

"We have to work in a coordinated manner," Nadda said.

"Delhi government and MCD should work in coordination and it is their responsibility to see that the preventive part is taken care of," he added.

Stressing on coordination, Nadda said, "This is not the right time for blame game but it is the time when we have to coordinate."

He also said the central government is ready to give technical and other support to Delhi government to see that people get relief.

Asked if the Union Health Ministry has asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to submit its report on chikungunya-related deaths, the Health Minister said, "I have asked Delhi government to send a detailed report on deaths and the reasons for it to the Union Health Ministry."

The Minister also stressed that the participation of people should have been increased, and for that Delhi government should have been proactive.

Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government of having lost the political will to govern.

"There is a complete loss of political will to govern following the High Court order which made their situation in Delhi very clear."

"Now AAP has now lost any will to govern," Yadav said, adding, "They know there is no cream left in Delhi. And Delhi for them was continuously merely a stepping stone for other things that they wanted to achieve. Now they are completely focusing on other things."

They have no desire to do anything for Delhi," Yadav alleged.

Attacking the AAP government and the Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCD), Yadav said, "Clearly the response of AAP has been shocking and irresponsible, and in this instance we should not forget that everyone else is playing the same blame game."

"The MCD of Delhi has done very little. But the condition here shows that no one is ready to take responsibility for what happened in the national capital," he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party attacked the Delhi government for "targeting" patients of other states for aggravating the health scenario of the capital.

"To say that people are coming from outside and are spoiling the situation in Delhi, is an unwanted remark," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.

The BJP leader also took a dig at Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain for maintaining that no death happened due to chikungunya, and said, "Whether deaths happen due to chikungunya or not, these are for experts to comment."

The Congress also attacked the Arvind Kejriwal government and said that it is just indulging in a blame game instead of working.

"Peoples' problem is secondary to them and their political motive is much more important," Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovely said.

Criticising the AAP government for not taking precautionary measures, the Congress leader said, "If they had planned things properly in February itself, matters would have been different today."

Chikungunya-related death count has risen to 14 in the national capital.

--IANS

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