AAP accuses BJP, LG of reviving scrapped Delhi healthcare reforms

AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP and LG Vinai Kumar Saxena of reinstating a hospital management system they had scrapped. He alleged the three-year disruption was politically motivated to malign CM Arvind Kejriwal and harm Delhi's healthcare.

AAP Slams BJP, LG Over Hospital Reforms

The Aam Aadmi Party accused the BJP government and Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena of reinstating the very healthcare reforms they had earlier scrapped, alleging that the three-year disruption in Delhi's Hospital Manager system was politically motivated. AAP Delhi State President and former Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the decision to halt salaries and abruptly discontinue the Hospital Manager programme, introduced under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had weakened hospital administration and inconvenienced thousands of patients. He charged that the system is now being quietly revived by the current BJP government.

Details of the Scrapped System

In a video statement posted on X, Bharadwaj said Kejriwal's administrative reforms were widely acknowledged, noting that the Hospital Manager model was approved by the Cabinet in 2018 to reduce the non-clinical workload of doctors who were "not trained for administrative tasks such as managing outsourced staff or overseeing supply chains."

According to Bharadwaj, around 54 Hospital Managers were appointed between 2018 and 2022, significantly improving efficiency in government hospitals. The system allegedly came to a halt after Saxena took charge as LG in 2022. "Their services were discontinued without any official termination notice. Their salaries were stopped, and the entire structure was dismantled," he said, claiming the move was aimed at "maligning Arvind Kejriwal."

Accountability Demanded for 3-Year Disruption

The AAP leader said he wrote repeatedly to the LG seeking restoration of the system, but received no response due to orders from the Raj Niwas. "Now in 2025, with a BJP government in Delhi, the same model is being reinstated. If Hospital Managers are being introduced again, it is clear that Arvind Kejriwal's governance model is being copied," he remarked.

Bharadwaj further questioned whether accountability would be fixed for the disruption that allegedly harmed Delhi's public healthcare system. "Will the LG face any punishment for troubling the public for three years? Will former Health Secretaries face prosecution for ending a well-functioning system? There will be no action, because this is the Chanakya Niti in today's country," he said, accusing the BJP of obstructing governance only to later claim credit for restored systems.

He described the episode as a "matter of great shame" and urged the public to reflect on the political intent behind such administrative decisions.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)