AAP hits back at Goa CM over 'Delhi model' jibe

Panaji: The Aam Aadmi Party in Goa on Saturday accused Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of trying to discredit Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led government's efforts to rein in the Covid-19 pandemic in the national capital.

"Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday, that it was Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan who had controlled the pandemic in Delhi. This is objectionable," Goa Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Suren Tilve said.

"If that was the case, why haven't Amit Shah and the Health Minister made any efforts to rein in the pandemic in Goa, which has assumed severe proportions," Tilve said.

On Friday, Sawant, who is currently in home isolation after testing positive for Covid-19, had said that it was intervention by the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre, which had managed to control the pandemic in the national capital and suggested that the credit should not go to Delhi's AAP government.

"Some people are now pretending that they are saviours of Covid-19 patients in Goa. They are talking about a Delhi model. But they should understand that it was in fact the Union government that provided the facilities in Delhi to manage the outbreak," Sawant had said without naming AAP.

The BJP and AAP are currently at loggerheads over the state government's Covid-19 management efforts, at a time when the state is witnessing an unprecedented spike in coronavirus cases.

Days after AAP started an oxymitra campaign, which involved making oxymeters available to asymptomatic Covid-19 patients to take oxygen saturation level readings when in home isolation, the Goa government on Friday had launched a fresh initiative to provide Covid-19 essential kits (which include an oxymeter) to all patients who are in home isolation.

Goa currently has 23,445 confirmed Covid-19 cases, which include 5,104 active cases. The state has also recorded 276 deaths due to the dreaded viral infection.

According to Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, a majority of the deaths have occurred on account of existing comorbidities in the patients or late reporting of cases. Rane also said that Goa may witness a spike of 1,000 cases per day in the near future.