'Taking Undue Credit for Dip in Dengue Cases': Gambhir Slams Kejriwal Even as CM Garners Popular Support

Delhi government led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has launched an ant-dengue campaign from September 1. The campaign titled ’10 Hafte, 10 Baje, 10 Minute’ will be on till November 15. The campaign has received a lot of appreciation and support from Bollywood celebrities as well as people of the capital. On Friday, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Gautam Gambhir criticised the Delhi Chief Minister, for taking credit for reduced cases vector-borne diseases in the national capital.

“He is doing politics by taking credit for reduced dengue, malaria and chikungunya cases this season in Delhi. The campaign he initiated on September 1, asking people to check for mosquito breeding in their premises, is done by the three municipal corporations all year round,” Gambhir, the BJP MP from east Delhi said.

“Their domestic breeding checkers (DBCs) and sanitation staff work hard to inspect each house and drain for breeding. It is unfair to take away the credit from these people,” cricketer-turned-politician Gambhir said at an East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) function in Krishna Nagar.

According to the Chairman of the Standing Committee of EDMC, Sandeep Kapoor, the corporation checked 53.5 lakh houses since July of which mosquito larvae were found in about 31.5 lakh houses. He added that about 32,000 notices have been issued and 2,804 challans were served. “These figures show that serious and continuous efforts have been made by us to control the mosquito menace,” Hindustan Times quoted Sandeep Kapoor as saying.

“The CM is only trying to mislead the public ahead of Assembly elections,” the daily reported Leader of the House of EDMC, Nirmal Jain, as saying.

Around 202 cases of malaria, 122 cases of dengue and 40 cases of chikungunya have been registered in the national capital till September 7.

“We are ready to give credit for all good things to BJP. One day Vijender Gupta says dengue has increased in Delhi, next week Gautam Gambhir agrees it has reduced. We are thankful that they at least agreed that Dengue is reduced in Delhi,” Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.