New Delhi: The Lieutenant Governor once again rejected the Delhi government's proposal to form a committee to investigate the deaths due to lack of oxygen. The development irked the cabinet ministers in the state government with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleging that the move is to cover up the central government's failure in oxygen management.
"Delhi Government has constituted a high-level inquiry committee of medical experts to investigate the number of deaths due to lack of oxygen. So that the reason behind these deaths could be duly investigated and a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh could be given to families of victims, but the L-G has yet again rejected this committee," the Deputy CM said. Centre wants states to hand over data without investigation so it can claim there have been no deaths due to lack of oxygen, he added.
However, sources in the L-G office said the statements made by Sisodia are "misleading, to say the least" and that "neither the L-G nor the government of India has said the deaths due to oxygen shortage should not be probed".
They said a high-level committee constituted on the directions of the Supreme Court, with senior and reputed doctors and the Additional Chief Secretary (Health) of the Delhi government as members, is already looking into the matter.
It has submitted an interim report and is working on the final report. The L-G and the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya have reiterated that the high-level committee is allowed to do its work, they said.
"Setting up another committee for the same purpose will only create confusion," a source said, adding the Delhi government has also been advised to follow the directions of the courts in the matter.
In response, Sisodia said, "It is clear that L-G's office, under Centre's pressure, is trying to scuttle any probe into deaths due to oxygen shortage in Delhi. The scope of the High-Level Committee constituted by SC is only to look after oxygen supply issues in Delhi, not to probe the number or the veracity of deaths due to oxygen shortage in Delhi's hospitals."
The Delhi government had sought an investigation into the gross mismanagement of oxygen by the Central Government, whether deliberate or unintentional, so that in the future such mistakes can be rectified.
"The Central Government is fully responsible for the mismanagement of oxygen. Today, the Central Government is trying to hide the facts by avoiding investigation, but the Central Government will have to bear the responsibility of the deaths of lakhs of people who lost lives because of Central Government's mismanagement," Sisodia said.
He further said that the Central Government, by avoiding investigation, wants states to hand over the report to them without any investigation so they can claim that there have been no deaths due to lack of oxygen.
The Central Government has repeatedly rejected proposals to form an inquiry committee for the investigation of the matter and to hide the actual number of deaths due to lack of oxygen, the Minister said.
"On one hand, the Central Government pretends to ask for data on deaths due to lack of oxygen. On the other hand, the inquiry committee is dismissed. What does the Central Government want to hide?," he questioned.