New Delhi: Schools and the healthcare facilities in Delhi were caught in political crossfire on Thursday as the AAP and the BJP tom-tommed their achievements to woo voters ahead of civic polls in the city.
Two days after a report claimed that all the three BJP-ruled civic bodies became "face of local governance" by addressing issues like sanitation, education and health, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sought a comparison of the schools and healthcare facilities run by the corporations, with those of the Delhi government under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Addressing a press conference, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said that South Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri had on Tuesday stated Kejriwal will not stand a chance if Delhi government's schools are compared with those run by the municipal corporations.
"Bidhuri's statement was tweeted by the official handle of the Delhi BJP... This was an official challenge to AAP's government in Delhi. I responded by tweeting 'When should we compare? Simultaneously, let us also compare the hospitals'," he said.
In his reply on Twitter, the AAP leader said, Bidhuri proposed that the civic bodies' dispensaries should also be compared with the mohalla clinics of the Delhi government,
"We accept the challenge," Bharadwaj said.
The AAP leader asked Bidhuri to name the top five schools and the top five dispensaries, which are run by the BJP-ruled civic bodies.
"We will also give a list of five Delhi government schools and mohalla clinics. We will visit these schools, dispensaries and mohalla clinics together, along with media persons. You (Bidhuri) decide the time, place and date," Bharadwaj said
"MCD schools versus Delhi government schools; MCD hospitals versus Delhi government hospitals; MCD dispensaries versus mohalla clinics these are the comparisons that the people of Delhi want to see," he added.
Achievements of the three BJP-ruled municipal corporations were highlighted in a report released on Tuesday in presence of party leaders, including Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi and party's Delhi unit president Adesh Gupta.
Prepared by BJP-affiliated think tank Public Policy Research Centre (PPRC), it noted that the civic bodies, despite facing a crunch of funds, have become the "face of local governance" by addressing issues like sanitation, education, health, converting 'waste to wonder' and COVID-19 prevention and and preparedness.