The Delhi government Wednesday offered all possible assistance to Bihar to deal with the increasing cases of children dying due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES).
Talking to reporters here, deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, flanked by Health Minister Satyendar Jain, said the AAP government was ready to send a team of doctors, paramedics, medicines and ambulances to Bihar.
Around 113 children have died so far due to AES in the state. Earlier this week, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had visited a hospital in Muzaffarpur where he faced protests by angry people over the deaths.
"I offer all possible assistance to the Bihar government in this crisis. We are ready to provide help such as sending teams of our doctors, para-medical staff, medicines and ambulances, to the state government," Sisodia said.
Hitting out at the central government, Jain sought to know as to why no child was getting medical treatment under its Ayushman Bharat programme.
The Delhi health minister had recently announced that the the AAP dispensation would not implement the central government-sponsored healthcare scheme in the national capital.
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Corroborating Jain's views, Sisodia said instead of rolling out the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, the BJP-led central government should have build hospitals, mohalla clinics and polyclinics, alleging that the scheme was only to benefit insurance companies.
"The Ayushman Bharat scheme is nothing but a white elephant," Sisodia said.
Earlier this month, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had written to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, saying the Delhi government's health scheme is "ten times bigger and comprehensive" than the Centre's flagship Ayushman Bharat programme.
Hardly any citizen of Delhi goes to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to get treatment, which indicates that Delhi's health scheme is functioning well, Kejriwal had said in the letter.
Hitting back at Kejriwal and Sisodia, senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Vijay Goel said that the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi should stop indulging in theatrics and refrain from politicising the deaths of children in Bihar.
"It would have served Sisodia better had he first looked at the condition of govt hospitals in Delhi," Goel said.
"Lakhs of poor people have benefitted from the Ayushman Bharat scheme but Kejriwal government deliberately stalled it in Delhi fearing that it would benefit the BJP and add to its popularity," he added.