AAP accuses BJP-led Delhi government of privatizing state hospitals, calling it a fraud against people and a threat to free healthcare.

In a scathing attack on the BJP-led Delhi government, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said the BJP was trying to privatize a number of state-run hospitals, which would enrich private companies at the expense of the public’s access to free healthcare. “Clear fraud against the people of Delhi” is how the party described it.

According to AAP spokesman Saurabh Bhardwaj, the BJP government intends to turn over hospitals constructed on public property and funded by the government to private enterprises.

The AAP referred to the transfer of government hospitals to private firms as “a clear fraud against the people of Delhi,” stating that the impoverished would no longer have access to free healthcare while commercial institutions would profit excessively.

The Delhi administration, which is governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, is reportedly planning to privatize a number of state-run hospitals. How would the public profit if government hospitals were turned over to private companies? It’s a straightforward strategy to help private players. “The people of Delhi are being defrauded,” Bhardwaj declared.

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He added that 24 new hospitals were built during the AAP’s rule, with ambitions to expand the healthcare system by thousands of beds.

“The 1,470-bed hospital in Shalimar Bagh is almost ready, but the BJP government has delayed its opening,” he stated.

The BJP’s assertion that the facilities in question were POTA cabins—temporary high-security enclosures used to detain and question suspects under the Prevention of Terrorism Act—was also rejected by the AAP leader.

“They’re wrong. We insist on a statement from the Health Minister or the Chief Minister elucidating this. Spokespeople are free to say anything and then take it back. Bhardwaj stated that the administration must clarify if it has made the decision to privatize the hospitals.

When the BJP claimed that the buildings were temporary Covid-19 facilities, the AAP Delhi chief accused them of attempting to deceive the public.

“They are now calling it a temporary facility of six wards used during the pandemic, but these were hospitals planned to provide free treatment to the public,” he stated.

The AAP insisted that privatizing healthcare facilities was never part of the government’s objective.

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“The privatization of hospitals has never been discussed by our government. The party reaffirmed that the purpose of these institutions was to offer the general population free medical care.

In response, the BJP said that Covid-19 disturbances hindered work and that hospital construction delays had already happened during the AAP government. The AAP, on the other hand, dismissed the explanation, claiming that it was being used by the current administration to support privatization.