'My crime is I fought...': Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on 'exaggerated oxygen need'
Arvind Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi,' My crime - I fought for the breath of my 2 crore people'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said that people who lost their loved ones should not be called liars after an alleged report by the Supreme Court-appointed Oxygen Audit Committee about Delhi exaggerating its oxygen requirement by four times during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi," My crime - I fought for the breath of my 2 crore people. When you were doing an election rally, I was awake all night arranging for Oxygen. I fought, pleaded to get people oxygen. People have lost their loved ones due to lack of oxygen. Don't call them liars, they feel so bad," when roughly translated to English.
The Supreme Court's oxygen audit team in its report said, "The Delhi government exaggerated the oxygen requirement for the city by more than four times during the April 25-May 10 period, at the peak of the second COVID wave," and added that the supply of excess oxygen to Delhi could have triggered a crisis in its supply to 12 states with the high caseload.
"There was a gross discrepancy (about four times) in the actual oxygen consumption claimed by the Delhi government (1,140MT) as it was about four times higher than the calculated consumption as per the formula based on bed capacity (289 MT)," the report further stated.
The average consumption of oxygen in Delhi was between 284 to 372 MT, said the report, and added that "the excess supply of oxygen affected other states in need of oxygen".
The panel, led by AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria, included Delhi Government Principal Home Secretary Bhupinder Bhalla, Max Healthcare Director Dr Sandeep Buddhiraja and Union Jal Shakti Ministry Joint Secretary Subodh Yadav.
Earlier, Delhi Deputy CM Manis Sisodia said "The BJP is presenting a false report that it prepared at its party headquarters. I challenge them to present such a report which has signatures of the members of the oxygen audit committee," Sisodia said.
By doing this, the BJP is not abusing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, but "those who lost their family members due to oxygen shortage when coronavirus cases were at its peak, he said and accused the Union government of mismanagement "which led to the oxygen crisis".
Delhi was hit severely by a brutal second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in April and May, claiming a massive number of lives daily, with a shortage in oxygen supply at various city hospitals adding to the woes.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!