He recounted that the tragic accident took place the previous day, when a senior Finance Department officer and his wife were hit by a speeding BMW near Delhi Cantonment while returning from a gurdwara.
File Photo: IANS
Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday criticized the Delhi government for shutting down the Farishtey Scheme in the wake of a recent road accident that claimed the life of a senior Union Finance Department officer.
Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj said the incident highlighted the apathy of both the Central and Delhi administrations, the collapse of the emergency response system, and what he called the BJP government’s “cruel decision” to scrap a scheme that had once saved thousands of lives.
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He recounted that the tragic accident took place the previous day, when a senior Finance Department officer and his wife were hit by a speeding BMW near Delhi Cantonment while returning from a gurdwara. Instead of rushing to help, bystanders reportedly recorded the incident on their phones.
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“A Muslim youth driving a pickup van came forward. He placed the elderly Sikh couple in his vehicle, and the woman driving the BMW—who had suffered minor injuries—also sat in the front seat. All three were taken to a private hospital. Unfortunately, the officer succumbed to his injuries after reaching the hospital, while his wife remains in a critical condition,” Bharadwaj said.
Lashing out at the government for scrapping the Farishtey Scheme, the former Delhi Health Minister recalled that under the initiative, accident victims in Delhi could be immediately admitted to the nearest private hospital, with the Delhi government covering the entire cost of treatment.
“In fact, during Arvind Kejriwal’s tenure, accident victims received treatment coverage of up to ₹50 lakh. But as soon as the BJP formed its government in Delhi, not a single rupee was allocated to the Farishtey Scheme in the 2025–26 Budget. They simply shut it down,” he alleged.
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