The tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party government and the Centre in Delhi over handling of chikungunya and dengue outbreak got uglier on Saturday with lieutenant- governor Najeeb Jung refusing to meet
The tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party government and the Centre in Delhi over handling of chikungunya and dengue outbreak got uglier on Saturday with lieutenant- governor Najeeb Jung refusing to meet two city ministers at Raj Niwas saying they had not sought “prior appointment.”
A day after Mr Jung asked deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia to cut short his visit to Finland in view of the outbreak of vector borne diseases, tourism minister Kapil Mishra and health minister Satyedra Jain landed at the L-G’s office to seek clarification on why he had asked the deputy CM to return back to Delhi when the health minister was present in the national capital.
The two ministers later said that they were informed by the LG’s office that since they had not taken a prior appointment, he could not meet them. The L-G’s office refused to open the gate for the two ministers. The ministers, who waited outside the LG office, said they had not sought appointment with Mr Jung as he had sent an “urgent” fax to Mr Sisodia and they thought that he must have something important to talk about.
An angry Kapil Mishra retorted saying there was no need for an appointment to discuss urgent matters like the outbreak of diseases. He told reporters, “We were told that it’s his off today and he (Mr Jung) does not sit in the office. We called him, but he was also not at his home. It appears he is not in a mood to work today.”
Notwithstanding the L-G order to cut short his visit, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia will return to the city from Finland on Sunday as scheduled.
Mr Mishra also appealed to the L-G to skip his offs on Saturday and Sunday and come to work to handle chikungunya and dengue outbreak. “Our mohalla clinics also work on weekends this time. There is no weekend for us, we are all working.”
Mr Jain said he had spoken to the L-G and had even sent him a fax as well. “But he said that he would not want to talk about it The L-G should call me, I am health minister, not the Dy CM ...Why can’t the L-G go with me to the hospitals to meet the patients,” Mr Jain said. He tweeted: “Went to LG office. Asked on phone if anything urgent as he faxed to recall deputy CM. Ans: nothing urgent to discuss, no time today.”
In a press statement, Raj Niwas strongly rebutted charges levelled by Mr Jain and Mr Mishra and retorted that it was operational on all seven days of the week and the ministers did not seek prior appointment even as it accused the AAP government of politicising the issue when the city was grappling with a health crisis. The lieutenant-governor’s office said that it is “regrettable” that at a time when Delhi is facing such a serious public health crisis, the elected government is choosing to “politicise” the issue instead of providing succour to the public.
The statement said: “Hon’ble minister Satyendra Jain and Kapil Mishra came to the lieutenant-governor’s office at 11.45am on September 17 without either seeking prior appointment from the lieutenant-governor or intimating him of their visit. The lieutenant-governor’s office came to know of their visit only through the media gathered outside, who had prior intimation that they were going to visit the lieutenant-governor’s office.” Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has undergone throat surgery in Bengaluru on Wednesday, is likely to be back by September 22.
