NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statement, expressing concerns over the pressure on the hospitals in the national capital because of patients coming from other states for treatment, has resulted in a war of words between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Former Delhi BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel on Monday said that Kejriwal had insulted Purvanchalis, people belonging to eastern Uttar Pradesh and part of Bihar, and should apologise for his remark.
“The statement is very unfortunate. Kejriwal is blaming Purvanchalis for collapse of health infrastructure in Delhi. He keeps offending the sentiments of Purvanchalis. Earlier, he compared Purvanchalis with illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh. His remark may be deliberate or unintentional, he should tender an apology,” said Goel.
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Speaking at foundation stone laying ceremony of a trauma centre at the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital on Sunday, Kejriwal said, “A person from Bihar buys a ticket to Delhi for Rs 500, returns after availing treatment worth Rs 5 lakh. While this makes us happy that these are the people of our country, Delhi has its own capacity. How can
Delhi serve the people of the entire country? There is a need to improve healthcare facilities across the nation.” He said the healthcare system of his government was “unmatched” which attracted people from other states.
Reacting to Kejriwal’s statement, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said, “Once again, he (Kejriwal) has exhibited his hatred. Why is Kejriwal affected if a citizen of this country from other state comes to the national capital to get a treatment?
He has personal enmity against me, his political rival, hence he is targeting the whole community. He can see his defeat so he is making such statements,”
he said.
“This statement is an example of Kejriwal’s hate and dislike for people from other states and particularly Purvanchalis. This is even sadder as the statement was being made at a time when Bihar is battling with extreme floods,” Tiwari said.
Second spat over Purvanchal
Tiwari had accused the CM of enmity against the people from UP-Bihar when Kejriwal said that Tiwari would be the first to leave Delhi if the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is implemented in Delhi. Tiwari has been demanding a NRC for Delhi to filter out the “illegal foreign migrants”.