Arvind Kejriwal writes to Amit Shah on Covid-19. Gets a blunt response on Twitter
Amit Shah tweeted a sharp response to Kejriwal within hours, pointing that he had issued instructions for deploying doctors from the ITBP three days back.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Home Minister Amit Shah to deploy doctors from the army and central police force ITBP at the 10,000 bed Covid facility being set up at the Radha Soami Satsang campus in south Delhi, according to news agency ANI on Tuesday. But Kejriwal didn’t have to wait for too long to get a response. Amit Shah tweeted a sharp response to Kejriwal within hours, pointing that he had issued instructions for deploying doctors from the ITBP three days back.
Also Read: Delhi’s Covid centre, 10 times bigger than China’s largest, to start this week
“Dear Kejriwal ji, It has already been decided in our meeting 3 days back and MHA has assigned the work of operating the 10,000 bed COVID Care Centre at Radha Swami Beas in Delhi to ITBP. The work is in full swing and a large part of the facility will be operational by 26th Jun,” Amit Shah said on Twitter, referring to an ANI tweet announcing Kejriwal’s letter.
Amit Shah is expected to visit the facility named Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre and Hospital later this week.
A central government official said Kejriwal’s letter inviting the home minister was seen as an attempt to appropriate credit for the facility by the Aam Aadmi Party government which, he said, was an initiative driven by the Amit Shah-led home ministry and Lt Governor Anil Baijal.
Several other central, state and municipal agencies are collaborating to set up the facility, billed to be 10 times bigger than China’s largest facility at Leishenshan to treat Covid-19 patients.
Kejriwal underscored the point in his ‘thank you note’ to Amit Shah.
Of the 10,200 beds that are being set up at the Radha Soami Satsang Beas campus in Chattarpur, about 1,000 beds would have the oxygen support facility for Covid-19 patients.
Amit Shah, who has lately assumed a lead role to prep the national capital for the expected spike in Covid-19 cases over the next one month, also announced that a 1,000 bed hospital with 250 intensive care unit beds was being developed for Covid patients by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Tata Trust. This facility, to be manned by personnel from the armed forces, will be ready in the next 10 days, Shah said.
“Armed Forces personnel have been detailed for providing medical care and attention to Covid patients housed in the Railway coaches in Delhi. 8,000 additional beds have already been placed at Delhi government’s disposal for making Covid care centres, as per requirement,” the home minister tweeted.
Shah’s sharp response to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal comes days after the AAP government locked horns with Lt Governor Anil Baijal to block a home ministry-driven move that made it mandatory for every Covid-19 patient to spend five days at a state-run quarantine facility. Lt Governor Baijal eventually rescinded the order, mandating that Covid-19 patients who are not able to stay in isolation due to constraints of space at home should be moved to state-run facilities. Lt Governor Baijal’s new order, however, requires Covid patients to make a mandatory visit to a Covid-19 care facility for one mandatory checkup.
