Kejri ran fraudulent ‘Delhi Model of Healthcare’, says DPCC chief

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Devender Yadav slammed the AAP over the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on health sector, tabled by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday.

He accused former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of running a fraudulent “Delhi Model of Healthcare,” pointing to dire condition of Mohalla Clinics, which are reportedly without proper staff, medicines and basic amenities.

Yadav stated that the CAG report validated Delhi Congress’s long-standing claims that Mohalla Clinics were nothing more than a sham, created to mislead the public and siphon funds under the guise of free treatment.

“Kejriwal promised 1,000 Mohalla Clinics when he first became CM. Instead, he closed over 500 well-established dispensaries set up by the previous Congress government and replaced them with poorly-run clinics,” Yadav said.

He also highlighted the dysfunctionality of the clinics during the Covid pandemic where several people were unable to even conduct Covid tests properly, leading to deaths due to lack of adequate medical care.

Yadav pointed out that former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had boasted that Mohalla Clinics were conducting nearly 200 tests, but investigations, including an Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) probe, revealed that two private labs conducted nearly 22 lakh tests from February to December 2023, with 65,000 tests found to be fake.

The CAG findings on the mismanagement of health facilities under the AAP government further supported the Congress’s claims about the inefficiency and corruption within the system. The CAG report also criticised the AAP government for its handling of the Covid pandemic, noting that out of the Rs 787.91 crore released by the Central Government, only Rs 582.84 crore was utilised.

Yadav reminded that despite the government’s failure, Kejriwal continued to take credit for the so-called “Delhi Model of Healthcare” during the recent Assembly elections.

Yadav called for a thorough investigation into the corruption and mismanagement outlined in the CAG report, demanding that those responsible be held accountable and punished for misappropriating taxpayer money.