JOIN USPolitical war in Delhi over COVID-19
The political war over COVID-19 funds escalated in Delhi on Monday with East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir accusing AAP-led government of not accepting his offer from MPLAD funds due to "massive ego" while Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal retorting that money is not the issue but availability of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).
Gambhir, a cricketer-turned-politician, offered another Rs 50 lakh saying his total offer of Rs 1 crore could be used for buying PPE kits, days after Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia shot off a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman protesting against the Centre not allocating a single rupee for Delhi when it released over Rs 17,000 crore to several states to aid the fight against COVID-19.
Tweeting the letter he wrote to the Chief Minister, Gambhir said, "Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Deputy (Chief Minister) say funds are needed. Though their massive egos didn't allow them to take Rs 50 lakh from my LAD (Local Area Development) fund earlier, I pledge Rs 50 lakh more so that innocents don't suffer!"
"Rs one crore would at least solve urgent need for masks and PPE kits for days. Hope they prioritize Delhi," he added. To this Kejriwal responded, "Gautam-ji, thank you for your offer. The problem is not of money but the availability of PPE kits. We would be grateful if you cud help us get them from somewhere immediately, Delhi government will buy them. Thank you."
In his letter, the East Delhi MP said, "In addition to Rs 50 lakh which I had pledged two weeks ago, I would further like to pledge Rs 50 lakh from my MPLAD to you kind office with the hope that the said amount would be useful in the procurement of equipment for medical staff as well as treatment of COVID-19 patients. Kindly direct the officers-in-charge to share requirements with my office."
Delhi government had last week send an 'SOS' to the Centre saying it was running of PPE kits, which include surgical suit, face mask and gloves among other things, for medical staff engaged in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. However, the Delhi government had said that it had not received any kit since then and its stock of around 8,000 kits was running out.
At least 24 healthcare professionals have been detected with COVID-19 while over 250 personnel are in quarantine in hospitals or houses after they came in contact with patients.
The Delhi government was also upset with the Centre government for not allocating any assistance from the Rs 17,287 crore it released to different states to "enhance their financial resources" to deal with the challenges in the fight against COVID-19 with Sisodia accusing the Narendra Modi government of "playing politics".
In his letter to the Finance Minister, Sisodia had also said it has been "unfortunate" that they have not been "not given a single rupee" by the Centre, which has come as a "huge shock and a disappointment" to the Delhi government at a time is fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Centre in the fight against the pandemic.