AAP, BJP councillors fight over credit for fewer dengue cases in Delhi

While AAP councillors heaped praise on chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s initiative calling on residents to do their bit, the BJP councillors argued the municipality has been “doing this since June in spite of Delhi government not releasing enough funds.”

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, on Tuesday, locked horns over who deserved credit for fewer vector-borne disease cases in Delhi so far.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, on Tuesday, locked horns over who deserved credit for fewer vector-borne disease cases in Delhi so far. (Parveen Kumar/HT File Photo)

While AAP councillors heaped praise on chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s initiative calling on residents to do their bit, the BJP councillors argued the municipality has been “doing this since June in spite of Delhi government not releasing enough funds.”

The civic body’s House meeting—held every month and attended by all 104 councillors— was adjourned on Tuesday amid arguments and sloganeering.

“The CM is trying to hijack our job (vector-borne disease control), while trying to strangulate the municipal corporation by not giving us our share of funds. They are destroying this institution out of political vendetta,” said Tilak Raj Kataria, Leader of House and BJP councillor in the north corporation.

“We can’t even buy medicines to kill mosquitoes or pay our domestic breeding checkers , who go door-to-door every day to check coolers and water tanks. Against the ₹135 crore the AAP government allocated for public health this year, they gave us only ₹57 crore, of which about ₹37 crore was due from last financial year,” said Jai Prakash, standing committee chairperson of the north corporation.

AAP councillors, however, contested these claims. “We have papers to prove that the Delhi government has provided more money to the BJP-run corporations since 2015 ... but the civic bodies are unable to clarify where the money has gone,” said Surjeet Singh Pawar, Leader of Opposition from AAP in the north body.

Congress councillors lent their support to the ruling BJP saying the north body was unable to take on any new projects. Mukesh Goel, Congress leader in the north corporation, said, “The Delhi government is patting its own back on the mosquito issue while holding back funds.”