Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s decision to treat patients only from the national capital in private and Delhi Government-affiliated hospitals on Monday attained political proportions in Punjab with the State Government seeking a review of the decision after describing it as “completely wrong”.
Joining in, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) too condemned the “inhuman decision” to limit treatment to only Delhi residents in its hospitals, and demanded to withdraw the decision immediately.
Notably, Kejriwal, in his televised address on Sunday, made it clear that the hospitals affiliated with Delhi Government will be reserved only for the residents of Delhi, while the Central Government Hospitals will remain open for the people who come from other states to Delhi for treatment.
Reacting strongly, Sidhu said: “India is one nation. Punjabis are the residents of India, and Delhi is a national capital, and the state shouldn't matter. We, in Punjab, have not stopped anyone. We have been treating people even from other countries. We have gave quarantine facilities to the students from Jammu and Kashmiri, kept people from UP and Bihar in isolation wards.”
“We will write a letter to the Delhi Government asking them to review the decision as it is not correct,” declared the Minister.
Sidhu pointed out that in case “there is someone from Punjab or other states, already undergoing treatment in Delhi hospital, they have to complete it from there, otherwise they have to start from the beginning. If someone has undergone a heart or cancer operation from there, they have to complete their treatment from that hospital only. In fact, they should welcome such patients with open arms….Delhi is a national capital…it is common for all”.
SAD WANT “INHUMAN DECISION” TO BE WITHDRAWN
Condemning Kejriwal for resorting to “inhuman conduct by discriminating against the people of the country” by stating that only Delhi residents would be treated in State Government Hospitals, Punjab’s regional party, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the decision.
“It is for the first time in the history of the country that a Chief Minister has tried to discriminate against countrymen by announcing that they would not be given treatment in State hospitals,” said SAD spokesperson and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema.
Stating that the decision was anti-people, Cheema said that this was not the first time that Kejriwal had taken such draconian decisions. “Earlier, the Delhi Chief Minister had forced lakhs of migrants to flee Delhi after denying them ration. Now, he is denying treatment to lakhs of people who might not have domicile papers of residence in Delhi even though they are living there for work purposes,” he said.
Asking Kejriwal to withdraw this inhuman decision immediately, Cheema said that the Delhi CM could ask for Central or even assistance from other States to ensure no one was denied prompt treatment during a time of the pandemic.
KEJRIWAL’S DECISION
A day before, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal made it clear that the private and Delhi Government-affiliated hospitals will be reserved only for the residents of Delhi, while the Central Government hospitals will remain open for the people who come from other states to Delhi for treatment.
The decision was taken as the national capital continues to witness an alarming rise in the number of Covid-19 cases with over a thousand fresh infections being reported daily. A whopping 1,320 fresh coronavirus cases were reported on Saturday, while 1,282 fresh infections were reported on Sunday, taking the Covid-19 tally in Delhi to 28,936 while the death toll climbed to 812.