AAP, BJP spar over SC panel's report on 'inflated' oxygen need

Responding to BJP's accusations, Kejriwal on Friday said his only "crime" was that he "fought for the breath of two crore people" of Delhi

Delhi's oxygen needs were "exaggerated" by four times during the second Covid wave, a Supreme Court-appointed panel report said, prompting the BJP to charge the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation of "criminal negligence", while the AAP dispensation accused the saffron party of "cooking up" such a report.

Responding to the accusations, Kejriwal on Friday said his only "crime" was that he "fought for the breath of two crore people" of Delhi. His deputy Manish Sisodia claimed that no such report has been approved by the committee members.

He alleged that the "bogus" and "misleading" report has been"cooked up" at BJP's office and submitted by the Centre in the apex court. "The real truth about this report is that it does not exist. This alleged report which is being used by BJP leaders to senselessly slam CM Arvind Kejriwal does not exist. It is bogus and misleading. The Bhartiya Janata Party is lying and shirking accountability," Sisodia alleged.

Several Union ministers, including Prakash Javadekar, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman, took to Twitter to hit out at the Delhi government over the report. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also slammed the Delhi government, terming it to be a "heinous crime".

The Delhi units of both the BJP and the Congress demanded the resignation of Kejriwal, saying that due to "exaggerated demand of oxygen" by his government, supply of the live-saving gas to 12 other states was affected.