BJP's Kapil Mishra lambasts AAP govt for reserving hotel rooms for COVID-19 +ve officials

On Wednesday, BJP leader Kapil Mishra lashed out at the Delhi government for allocating 250 hotel rooms for the treatment of its COVID-19 positive officials and family members. He posted an order dated April 27 whereby Hotel Ginger, Hotel Park Plaza, Hotel Leela Ambience and Hotel Golden Tulip Essential have been directed to reserve 70 rooms, 50 rooms, 50 rooms and all rooms respectively for the treatment of officials/officers of AAP government, autonomous bodies, Corporations, local bodies and their kin who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital and the Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital will manage these facilities. 

The Shahdra District Magistrate and District Magistrate West will requisition these facilities with immediate effect. Mishra lamented that doctors, oxygen and medicines shall be diverted to these hotels from government hospitals. According to him, this cannot be tolerated as the common person is struggling to get even one bed or oxygen cylinder. At present, there are 98,264 active novel coronavirus cases in the national capital while 9,58,792 patients have been discharged and 15,009 deaths were reported.

Delhi government withdraws Ashoka Hotel order

Earlier, the order of Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Chanakyapuri) Geeta Grover to convert 100 rooms of the Ashoka Hotel for setting up a COVID-19 health facility for the use of Delhi HC judges, other judicial officers and their families had attracted a lot of criticism. However, the division bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli denied having made any request to the AAP government for using the Ashoka Hotel. Slamming the Arvind Kejriwal-led government for passing orders right, left and centre, it asked, "Can we as an institution say that create a special facility for us? Will this not be blatantly discriminatory that people can’t get treatment and there is a facility in a five-star hotel for us?"

Questioning whether this was an attempt to appease the court, it also rejected the Delhi government's counsel Rahul Mehra's argument that the media played a mischievous role in interpreting the order. The court stressed that it was the order and not the media that was wrong. Observing that it is unthinkable that the Delhi HC as an institution will want any preferential treatment, it noted that advocate Santosh Tripathi has accepted notice on behalf of the Delhi government and wishes to file a reply. Warning that the HC will quash the order if it is not withdrawn, it listed this matter for hearing on April 29. Thereafter, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia issued directions to withdraw this order immediately.