Delhi Lt Governor asks Manish Sisodia to return from Finland amid chikungunya outbreak

NEW DELHI: With Delhi reeling from an outbreak of chikungunya, dengue and other vector-borne diseases, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has asked Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to return from Finland as soon as possible, sources have said.

"The deputy CM has been asked to come back to Delhi immediately as the city is witnessing spurt in dengue and chikungunya cases," a top source said.

Mr Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, is in Finland to study the country's education system to fix the problems in Delhi's education system.

The opposition has alleged that Mr Sisodia is holidaying in Finland. Earlier today, Congress activists observed 'Bhagoda Divas' in Delhi to protest against the absence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Mr Sisodia and other ministers from Delhi which is at present reeling under chikungunya and dengue outbreak. The two mosquito-borne diseases have claimed 30 lives in Delhi this season; the number of affected people has crossed 2,800.

Mr Sisodia responded on Twitter: "Learning from across the world is not a sin. It's a sin to defame an educational tour as a 'holiday'. I'm in Finland. We need to learn a lot from their education system, the best in the world (sic)."

Mr Kejriwal is currently at a hospital in Bengaluru where he underwent a surgery on Wednesday to fix his chronic cough.