With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal promising Delhi-like health facilities in Punjab post-2022 Assembly polls, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday said Kejriwal was lying brazenly on health sector achievements in Delhi.

“Delhi became a national health disaster under Kejriwal, especially on the Covid front. Kejriwal had presided over the total collapse of the health infrastructure in Delhi and should not try to mouth lies and mislead Punjabis with false promises when he had failed to achieve anything, “ said Badal

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Quoting information sought under the RTI, Badal said the AAP government in Delhi had not added a single new hospital from 2015-2019. He said similarly no new beds were added to existing hospitals during this time frame.

“The Delhi government admitted officially in the high court in 2019 that 35 government hospitals were in dilapidated conditions with inadequate manpower. Even the Supreme Court pulled up the Delhi government in June 2020 for the deplorable condition of hospitals and mismanagement of Covid treatment. The state witnessed 25,000 Covid deaths. More than 103 doctors died during the pandemic in the state,” he said.

Expressing shock as to how Kejriwal could tom-tom his guarantee on health to Punjabis after having such a bad track record on health in Delhi, Badal said Kejriwal is trying to befool Punjabis with the failed Mohalla Clinic model of Delhi by promising 16,000 village clinics in Punjab.

“I would like to point out Kejriwal promised 1,000 Mohalla Clinics in Delhi but could open only 480 clinics in six years. Even out of these 270 were lying closed in March 2020,” he said.

When questioned about the ongoing circus in the Punjab Congress, the SAD president said the Congress should clarify who would be the chief ministerial candidate of the party.

He said the real issue in the party was the fight for the top chair. “It is apparent that Navjot Sidhu wanted a rubber stamp CM and when Charanjit Singh Channi did not oblige he resigned in a huff,” Badal said.

He said Channi was part of the cabinet and is as much at fault for failing Punjabis as former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh. “Channi never raised his voice against corrupt deeds like the SC Scholarship scam and has even now not proceeded against former minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot who was responsible for denying scholarship to SC students,” Badal said.