The Delhi government today 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 yesterday, said Jung and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be "questioned" over the issue as "all powers" rested with them.
"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.
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.
At a press conference, the Delhi Health Minister said
Jung is "not allowing the government to work for the people of Delhi. He recently transferred the Health Secretary without my concurrence and has now given a 15-day leave to the new Health Secretary at a time when people are facing a health crisis."
"There is no dearth of beds in government hospitals.There are 40,000 beds in the city and central government-run hospitals, but only 40 per cent of beds are with the Delhi government. Our hospitals are not refusing to admit patients.
"The LG claims that he runs the government. Where is he now when Delhi is reeling under a health crisis?," he said.
Jain also accused the media of creating "panic" about chikungunya and dengue.
"Media has been given a contract to create panic. Chikungunya has not caused a single death in the world, but media is showing death due to chikungunya in Delhi. I want to make it clear that chikungunya is not fatal," he said.
