AAP legislators eager to dislodge BJP from civic agencies

The ruling AAP party is raring to topple the BJP from the three municipal corporations in the next civic elections and legislators made their feelings amply clear during a discussion in the Delhi Assembly on insanitary conditions caused by lax municipal corporations.

Apart from flogging the BJP-run corporations for causing “epidemic-like situation” due to their poor sanitation facilities, almost all legislators and Health Minister Satyendar Jain who spoke in the Assembly on Tuesday appeared to be in civic poll mood by announcing that it was just a matter of a few months before the AAP’s party symbol “broom wipes away the BJP in civic agencies”.

“I hope the Bhavna Garu Committee will soon give its report on reforming the functioning of the civic agencies so that when elections are held seven months from now, a new beginning can be made in corporations under us,” said Jain, while concluding the short duration discussion.

Jain agreed with Okhla MLA Amanatullah, Hari Nagar MLA Jagdeep Singh, Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti and Rohtas Nagar MLA Sarita Singh that the civic agencies had failed miserably in taking preventive steps against dengue and chikungunya.

The Health Minister also offered to attend to legislators’ complaint that the sanitary staff of civic agencies did not respond to their instructions. “I will try to provide within 10 days the lists of sanitary workers in each constituency so that they can be monitored,” he said.
“The task of preventing diseases comes under public health which is in the domain of the civic agency. The Delhi government’s role starts when treatment is needed by a sick person,” said Jain, assuring that the Delhi government was capable for caring for all the patients.

He warned against self-medication and over-reaction to fever. “We admitted 1.5 -2 lakh patients with fever and only 2 percent were found to be suffering from dengue,” he said.
Model Town legislator Akhilesh Pati Tripathi said the BJP was taking revenge from voters of Delhi by not maintaining proper sanitation.

Politics of vendetta
Sarita Singh said the BJP-ruled civic agencies were pursuing politics of vendetta and trying to create an illusion that the dengue and chikungunya cases were due to laxity of the AAP government.

Till Monday, the number of deaths due to dengue in the city stood at four as the total number of cases jumped to over 310. A total of 192 cases were recorded in the first three weeks of August.