Under CM Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi is fast emerging as the epicentre of the Coronavirus outbreak in the country. With 38,958 cases, the Indian capital has more cases than entire states, except Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The curve continues to rise steeply in Delhi- over 2,000 COVID-19 cases were recorded on two consecutive days. 2,137 fresh cases were reported on Friday and 2,134 on Saturday. In this context, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has decided to take charge of the situation.
The Office of the Union Home Minister tweeted, “Home Minister, Shri @AmitShah and Health Minister, @drharshvardhan to hold meeting with @LtGovDelhi, CM Delhi & members of SDMA to review situation in the capital regarding COVID-19 tomorrow, 14th June at 11 am.”
It added, “Director AIIMS and other senior officers would also be present.”
Home Minister, Shri @AmitShah and Health Minister, @drharshvardhan to hold meeting with @LtGovDelhi, CM Delhi & members of SDMA to review situation in the capital regarding COVID-19 tomorrow, 14th June at 11 am.
Director AIIMS and other senior officers would also be present.
— गृहमंत्री कार्यालय, HMO India (@HMOIndia) June 13, 2020
It appears that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has realised that not much can be expected of the Delhi Chief Minister when it comes to handling the Coronavirus outbreak. On Saturday, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister held a meeting with the mayors of Delhi Municipal Corporations (MCDs).
The number of cases is increasing at a breakneck speed, and at this rate, Delhi will leave Mumbai far behind in a matter of days.
Even the Supreme Court of India has taken note of the situation and recently pulled up the Kejriwal government for its lax attitude.
The apex court strongly rebuked the Delhi government over the mismanagement of dead bodies and said that the treatment being given to COVID-19 patients was “worse than animals”.
The three judges bench comprising of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul, and M R Shah also observed, “The situation in Delhi is horrendous, horrific and pathetic.”
It added, “Very sorry state of affairs in Delhi and inside its hospitals. Look at the treatment meted out to patients. The patients are crying and no one is looking after them. Relatives are not even informed, as reported by media, after the death of patients…”
The Kejriwal government however remains indifferent and insensitive. Chief Minister Kejriwal has no real plan but only propaganda in order to sidestep the outrage that he is facing for the horrifying situation in Delhi.
The apex court also slammed the Delhi government over the drop in testing. The three judges bench asked, “Why has your testing gone down from 7,000 to 5,000 a day?”
To make matters worse, MCDs recently cited funerals to put the Coronavirus death toll at 2,098 fatalities. This is largely at variance with the Kejriwal government’s official statistic of 1,271 deaths.
Moreover, at the time of writing this story, Delhi’s Coronavirus recovery rate stood at an abysmal 38.3 per cent. The fate of the 22,742 active cases in Delhi is still unknown. Low recovery rate makes the National Capital vulnerable to sudden jumps in the death toll.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal government has only outrageous ideas like trying to reserve Delhi hospitals for Delhi residents to tackle the public health emergency. As if the Coronavirus Pandemic wasn’t enough, the Delhi government also tried to rake up regional parochialism and bias.
All that Kejriwal and his cabinet have been doing is to make scary predictions, instead of coming up with a real plan to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.
Recently, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, “In SDMA’s meeting today it was discussed that in Delhi by June 15, there will 44,000 cases and 6,600 beds will be needed. By June 30, there will be one lakh cases and 15,000 beds will be needed. By July 15, there will be around 2.25 lakh cases and 33,000 beds will be needed. By July 31, there will be 5.5 lakh cases in Delhi and around 80,000 beds will be needed.”
But the Kejriwal government doesn’t really want to do anything about this. All it can do is blame the Delhi Lieutenant Governor. Sisodia said, “LG sir’s yesterday’s decision to open Delhi’s hospitals for everyone, it has created problems for people of Delhi, and we had raised the issues in the SDMA’s (State Disaster Management Authority) meeting, but LG sir did not agree to it… We urged him to reconsider his decision, but he did not accept it.”
Such reports of the Kejriwal government’s incompetent and shocking nonchalance have made Union Home Minister Amit Shah realise that he will have to take charge of the situation in Delhi.
The only man who can guide the National Capital out of the frightening prospects that it is facing is Amit Shah.
The Kejriwal government has thrown in the towel, leaving Delhi residents to fend for themselves and now it is Amit Shah who is once again going to come to the rescue of the National Capital and its residents.