Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said money is not a problem but the availability of protective equipment for healthcare personnel is, after BJP parliamentarian Gautam Gambhir accused the Delhi government of not accepting Rs 50 lakh from his MPLADS fund to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
In a tweet, Gambhir, an East Delhi MP, said the "massive egos" of Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia did not allow them to take Rs 50 lakh from his Local Area Development fund.
"CM @ArvindKejriwal & his Dy say funds are needed. Though their massive egos didn't allow them to take50 L from my LAD fund earlier, I pledge 50 L more so that innocents don't suffer! 1 CR would at least solve urgent need for masks &PPE kits for days Hope they prioritize Delhi," Gambhir tweeted.
Responding to it, Kejriwal said, "Gautam ji, thank u for ur offer. The problem is not of money but availability of PPE kits. We wud be grateful if u cud help us get them from somewhere immediately, Del govt will buy them. Thank u."
Gambhir answered back to the chief minister in a tweet saying he has procured 1,000 PPE kits and asked where could they be delivered. He also told Kejriwal that this is no time to talk but act.
"Arvind ji, first ur deputy claims shortage of funds. Now u contradict him & say there is shortage of kits. Anyway, procured 1,000 PPE kits. Please let me know where they can be delivered. Time for talks is over, it is time to ACT. Eagerly waiting for ur response #DelhiNeedsHonesty," Gambhir tweeted.
Separately, in a letter to Kejriwal, Gambhir said it was stated by Sisodia that funds were needed to meet the growing demand of medical equipment in Delhi government hospitals.
"In addition to Rs 50 lakh which I had pledged two weeks ago, I would further like to pledge Rs50 lakh from my MPLAD to your kind office with the hope that the said amount would be used in procurement of equipment of medical staff as well as treatment of COVID-19 patients," the BJP parliamentarian said.
Earlier Gambhir accused the AAP government of "shedding crocodile tears" and playing the "victim card", saying he had offered Rs 50 lakh for PPE kits and masks to it but did not receive any feedback.
Kejriwal on Saturday said his government has asked for PPE kits from the Centre but none were received. He, however, said on Monday that the Centre has allocated 27,000 PPE kits to Delhi and hoped they would be available to his government within 2 days.
Sisodia had demanded a disaster fund from the Centre to fight coronavirus outbreak, saying Delhi was the third most-affected state in the country.
In a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he said the Centre released over Rs 17,000 crore to states from the disaster fund but not "a single rupee" was given to Delhi.
"I have demanded disaster fund for Delhi also in a letter to the Central government. The Centre released Rs 17,000 crore to states to fight the corona from the disaster fund but Delhi was not given a single rupee from it.
"The country should fight as one at this hour. This discrimination is unfortunate," Sisodia tweeted.
Coronavirus cases in Delhi have crossed 500 and seven deaths have been reported due to the virus.
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