BJP demands removal of AAP govt over minors' starvation

BJP MPs on Thursday raised in the Lok Sabha the issue of deaths of three minor girls due to "starvation" and demanded the removal of the AAP government in Delhi.

"Three minor girls have died in east Delhi's Mandavali region due to hunger," said south Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ramesh Bhiduri during Zero Hour. The deaths have happened in Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's constituency, he noted.

Pointing out that there are about 2,500 ration shops in Delhi but the poor are still not getting ration, he said, "Even the postmortem report has confirmed that they died due to starvation. Thus the Delhi government has no right to stay in power here."

West Delhi BJP MP, Pravesh Sahib Singh Verma cited a news report to state that the revenue of Delhi government's Excise Department had gone up by 41 per cent in the last year. With around 1,500 new liquor shops opening in Delhi, the poor are spending their incomes there and the Delhi government is encouraging them.

East Delhi MP Maheish Girri accused Sisodia of lying, saying he had visited the family members of the deceased. Dismissing Sisodia's claim that the family came to Mandavali just two days ago, he said the family has been living there for years.

"Ration scam is the biggest reason for the deaths of these girls. They also did not get proper treatment at the Mohalla clinics being run by the Delhi government. The Delhi government should be terminated," the BJP MP demanded.

Earlier in the day, Delhi BJP President, Manoj Tiwari, who represents northeast Delhi in the Lok Sabha visited the family. After meeting them, he accused the Delhi government of doing politics over ration supply.

The BJP MP's remarks came two days after three girls died due to starvation. An autopsy at the Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Hospital suggested that starvation "appears" to be the cause of the demise of the three sisters on Tuesday.

According to police, the three -- aged two, four and eight years -- were found unconscious in their one-room house by their neighbours and later declared brought dead at the LBS Hospital.

The Delhi government has ordered a magisterial probe into the deaths.

--IANS

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