New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has claimed that if beds are not available at the Central Government hospitals then patients in waiting are asked to pay anything between Rs25,000 to Rs50,000 to brokers to get their bed booked.
"What is happening in the Central Government-run AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi is very surprising...There is a nexus between the hospital management and the brokers. Patients who are refused beds due to unavailability are asked to pay Rs 25000-50000 to get a bed registered for themselves," Aam Aadmi Party Delhi Chief Whip Dilip Pandey alleged in a press conference.
Pandey said that it is a criminal act to allow brokerage to persist and at the same time deny beds at central government hospitals. These hospitals are run entirely by the Central Government as it is directly under the purview of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and the law and order of Delhi comes under Union Home Minister.
"They are not able to give beds but they are allowing brokerage to persist under people's noses. Amit Shah is responsible for maintaining law and order in Delhi. Health Ministry is under Manadaviya. And since it is the national capital, I believe the Prime Minister also knows about this," the AAP Chief Whip said.
Questioning the silence of the Bharatiya Janata Party on this issue, Pandey said, "Why are you silent on corruption in Central Government hospitals? I would like to ask the Union Health Minister, Union Home Minister and the Prime Minister if this does not break your heart."
Pandey also cited a media report of a 14-year-old girl who kept making rounds from one hospital to another after she was allegedly denied admission at Safdarjung and AIIMS, Delhi. The girl was earlier being treated at a Delhi government hospital. "Does your heart ache after reading this news or not? Why are you silent?" he asked the Central Government.
Taking a dig at the BJP, the AAP leader said that instead of wasting their energy on harassing the AAP government in Delhi, they should have focussed on its hospitals in the capital. (with ANI inputs)
