The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Delhi government, alleging the closure of 200 Mohalla Clinics, a move it claims has crippled a key public healthcare initiative and left hundreds of employees jobless.
File Photo: AAP’s Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Delhi government, alleging the closure of 200 Mohalla Clinics, a move it claims has crippled a key public healthcare initiative and left hundreds of employees jobless.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that the government has recently shut down 170 clinics, adding to the 31 closed earlier this year. He asserted that this decision strips an estimated 20,000 Delhi residents of daily access to free medical consultations, medicines, and diagnostic tests.
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Bharadwaj accused the administration of carrying out the closures secretively, with Chief District Medical Officers informing staff via phone calls and emails that their services were terminated. He highlighted that the timing, coinciding with the Diwali festival, exacerbated the distress for hundreds of now-unemployed staff, including doctors, pharmacists, and support workers.
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The AAP leader also recollected the past promises made by the BJP leaders. He said during the Delhi elections, senior figures like Union Home Minister Amit Shah had assured that no public welfare schemes would be discontinued. Furthermore, he claimed that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s assurance to prioritise these staff for positions in new ‘Arogya Mandirs’ has not been honoured.
The party contended that the closures represent a systematic dismantling of a successful public health model, leaving a significant portion of the city’s population, including many from poorer backgrounds, without accessible primary healthcare. The allegations form part of the ongoing political contestation over health policy and governance in the national capital.
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