CM Rekha Gupta slams AAP's health model, terms 'Mohalla Clinics' a 'photo propaganda'

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), accusing it of turning Delhi's healthcare system into a sham under the guise of reforms and populist schemes.

She also criticised the previous governments in Delhi for the crumbling health infrastructure.

Addressing a public event in New Delhi, CM Gupta said, "For 27 years, the people of Delhi were misled with slogans, songs, and talks of reform, while the actual healthcare infrastructure crumbled. Before our government took charge, Delhi had just 0.42 hospital beds per 1,000 people under the previous regimes. Out of 38 government hospitals, only six had MRI machines and just 12 had CT scans."

Taking a veiled jibe at AAP, she said that the so-called "world-class health model" projected by the former government was nothing more than a hollow claim.

"They introduced a fancy name – Mohalla Clinic – and spent crores in the name of public health. But what was the result? These clinics were built next to drains, with massive posters carrying leaders' faces but no medicines or medical staff inside," the Chief Minister claimed.

She further alleged that unqualified individuals were hired to operate these clinics. "There was just one person at some centres, with no valid degree, who was paid Rs 40 per patient. His focus was not on treatment but on numbers. They claimed 200 patients visited daily, but even basic math doesn't support this - it was simply impossible given the working hours," she added.

CM Gupta accused the previous administration of widespread corruption in awarding contracts, constructing hospitals, and recruiting staff.

"From contracts to infrastructure, from procurement to payroll, corruption was everywhere. And this was the so-called revolution in healthcare they promised," she said.

Without naming the AAP directly, Gupta said Delhiites had been fooled for years with fake models and photo ops.

"Our goal is not to create noise but to bring real change. The people now realise that those before us were focused only on headlines, not healing," she said.

--IANS

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