New Delhi:
The Delhi government on Tuesday put the onus on Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and the Centre for the outbreak of dengue and chikungunya in the national capital even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues came in for criticism for remaining “absent” from the city.
Kejriwal, who returned from Punjab on Monday, said Jung and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be “questioned” over the issue as “all powers” rested with them.
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“CM n min left wid no power now, even to buy a pen. LG n PM enjoy all powers wrt Del. LG abroad. Question them for Del, (sic)” he tweeted.
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said in a tweet that officials of the Delhi government were busy following the “LG’s instructions” of going through the files of the past 18 months and sending these to him.
[ALSO READ: Chikungunya-Dengue outbreak with 2200 cases in Delhi: Death toll rises to 5]
There are five ministers left in the Kejriwal cabinet after Sandeep Kumar’s removal. They are Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, Satyendra Jain, Kapil Mishra, Imran Hussain.
As the city reels under a major health crisis, virtually the entire Delhi Cabinet is missing from action as Sisodia, Rai and Hussain are out of station. Only Mishra and Jain are in the city. Jain, who was on a two-day Goa visit, returned to Delhi this afternoon.
Kejriwal left for Bengaluru, where he is scheduled to undergo a throat surgery today. He will remain there for 10 days.
Sisodia is in Finland to study its education system for about two-three days. Labour Minister Gopal Rai is in Chhattisgarh, while Environment Minister Imran Hussain is on Haj pilgrimage. Also, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung is in the United States for 10 days.
Three persons have died due to chikungunya in Delhi. While one death was reported yesterday, two more fatalities were recorded today. The dengue and malaria toll stand at nine and two respectively.
Former chief minister Sheila Dikshit hit out at Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues for “touring other states while Delhi is reeling under chikungunya”.
“As far as I know, all the ministers are out of Delhi. It is the responsibility of the government...More than negligence, it is a matter of playing with the lives of people,” Dikshit said. Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken slammed Kejriwal and Jung for “passing the buck”.
State BJP chief Satish Upadhyay also denounced Kejriwal and his ministers for “remaining absent” from the city even as he directed the party-ruled MCDs to make best efforts to halt the spread of chikungunya and dengue.
