New Delhi, 26 August (H.S.):

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the party’s MLAs will meet Delhi Lieutenant Governor on September 1 to raise concerns over alleged scams and issues concerning the city’s healthcare system.

Bharadwaj had sought an appointment with the Lieutenant Governor regarding the alleged irregularities and the state of healthcare in Delhi. He said AAP leaders will now meet the Lieutenant Governor at 4:30 p.m. on September 1.

The AAP Delhi president alleged that several scams have come to light during the nearly one-and-a-half-year tenure of the Delhi government. He also raised questions over the role of the Lieutenant Governor in connection with these alleged cases.

Bharadwaj claimed that alleged irregularities worth around Rs 650 crore had surfaced in the health sector, while alleged discrepancies involving Rs 90 crore had emerged in the procurement of bicycles. He also referred to alleged irregularities concerning rice distribution and a school trust. He said AAP MLAs wanted to raise all these issues with the Lieutenant Governor.

Bharadwaj said that since the Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) and the police come under the Lieutenant Governor, the AAP is demanding impartial investigations into the alleged cases. He said the party had written to the Lieutenant Governor seeking probes into the matters and requesting an appointment to discuss them.

On bicycle procurement, Bharadwaj claimed that while the Delhi government was purchasing bicycles for Rs 7,000 each, the AAP had demonstrated that the same could be procured for Rs 4,000. He questioned why, if bicycles were available in the market for Rs 4,000, the government’s procurement price should not have been around Rs 3,000.

Regarding rice distribution, Bharadwaj alleged that if poor families had received their entitled share of rice, each family could have received around 28 kg of rice.

Raising concerns over Delhi’s healthcare system, Bharadwaj said cases of swine flu were being reported in the city, while hospitals were facing issues related to the availability of medicines and doctors. He said the AAP would continue to seek answers from the government and the Lieutenant Governor on these issues.

Bharadwaj said that after AAP leaders reached Raj Niwas, they were informed that the Lieutenant Governor would meet them on September 1.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar