Bharadwaj claims health secretary filed "false" affidavit in HC without his knowledge; LG Secretariat rejects charge

New Delhi: Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday accused the health secretary of getting a false affidavit filed in the high court on the issue of alleged lack of infrastructure in Delhi government-run hospitals and claimed it was a "conspiracy to trap him".

There was no immediate reaction from the health secretary, but the LG Secretariat officials alleged that the minister was once again making "false statements to not only mislead the people of Delhi but the judiciary as well".

The AAP minister said he would write to the Law Department for strict action against the health secretary and the Standing Counsel of the ‘Services’ Department.

Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj said that for the last several years a petition regarding health services in the national capital is being heard in the Delhi High Court. The High Court constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Sarin and it presented its report before the court which passed an order saying the Delhi government should work according to the recommendations of the committee.

“An affidavit was presented before the Delhi High Court on behalf of the Health Department of Delhi in this regard, but despite being the Health Minister of Delhi, neither was that affidavit shown to me nor was it approved by me," he charged.

He said, "For a long time, I have been writing letters to the chief secretary and the health secretary, telling them that there is a huge shortage of medicines in the Delhi government hospitals and Mohalla Clinics,"

Despite that, a false affidavit was presented before the High Court, in which it was said that there was no shortage of medicines in Delhi Government hospitals and Mohalla Clinics.

AAP ministers have accused senior bureaucrats in Delhi government of ignoring their directions since pre-eminence was given to the lieutenant governor over the elected dispensation in controlling services in the national capital.

The minister said from 2023 till now, it has been said many times by him and the Law Department that if any affidavit is given to the High Court or Supreme Court or NGT on behalf of the department, then "it should be approved by the minister in charge because ultimately the accountability lies with the minister".

"Despite saying it many times, this affidavit was given to the Delhi High Court without my knowledge and without approval,” he claimed.

He claimed that the affidavit was given to the High Court not by the Standing Counsel of the Delhi Government, but by the Standing Counsel of the ‘Services’ Department under the Lieutenant Governor (LG).

"So many lies have been written in this affidavit. If this affidavit was filed by the lawyer of the Delhi Government, he would have definitely sought the approval of the minister," he said.

Noting that the recommendations given by the court are very important, he said all medicines should be available for patients in hospitals and there should be a stock of at least two months.

“In the affidavit submitted by the Standing Counsel of the ‘Services’ Department in the High Court, it is clearly written that the tender for CPA has been done and all these tenders will be completed by June 15,” he added.

Stressing that the affidavit has not been approved by him but by the Health Secretary, he alleged that "the things written in this affidavit are lies, whereas the truth is exactly the opposite".

The LG Secretariat dismissed the minister's allegations.

"Yet another misleading and false statement made by the Press Conference Minister, this time to not only mislead the people of Delhi but the Judiciary as well.

"This Secretariat will react substantively to statements made by the Health Minister where substantive points are raised, not to inanities of the PC Minister," it said.

Bharadwaj alleged the main purpose behind the affidavit was to 'maintain the shortage of medicines in hospitals and Mohalla Clinics, harass the public and defame the elected government of Delhi among the people of Delhi".

“In this affidavit, he has mentioned files related to two different cases and said that both these files are pending with the Health Minister. Whereas I want to tell you that not even one of these files has been sent to me till date. Despite this, a conspiracy has been hatched to defame and trap me before the court by writing lies in this matter,” he asserted.