Politics

Karnataka minister Gundu Rao ‘appreciates’ Delhi mohalla clinic, then calls it ‘overhyped’

August 4, 2023
Bharat Times

New Delhi: Karnataka health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, who came to Delhi Friday to visit mohalla clinics run by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, “appreciated” its functioning, only to make a complete U-turn later. 

Delhi health minister Saurabh Bhardwaj accompanied Rao during his visit to a mohalla clinic at Panchsheel Park area. Rao purportedly said that “it was functioning very well” and that he would go back to Karnataka to see how he could “improve the systems there”. A video of this statement is viral, although ThePrint cannot independently verify its authenticity. 

Hours after his visit, however, Rao tweeted that the mohalla clinic was “overhyped” as he visited a facility with “hardly any people there” and added that “he was disappointed”.  “Our clinics in Karnataka have more facilities including a laboratory to do immediate tests for patients,” Rao tweeted. 

The AAP shot back saying that the Karnataka minister had appreciated the clinic for running effectively and said he had learnt a few things from his visit.

“However, in a bizarre turn of events, later Dinesh Gundu Rao received a phone call. Following the call, he mentioned an important meeting and left the location,” the AAP said in a statement. “A while later, he tweeted criticising the mohalla clinic. Only Dinesh Gundu Rao can clarify why his statement changed from praising the Mohalla Clinic to criticising it, after one phone call.”

ThePrint tried to reach Rao via calls and messages. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.

AAP’s rise in Delhi in 2013 coincided with the fall of the Congress unit, making them political rivals. Currently, the Congress has no MLAs in the Delhi Assembly. 

Also Read: 5 scandals dogging AAP mohalla clinics in Punjab: ‘Rs 30 cr for publicity, holy names dropped’

Mohalla clinic versus Namma clinic

In its statement, AAP said that a team from the party’s Karnataka unit had visited a ‘Namma Clinic’ in Rao’s constituency —  Gandhi Nagar — and found deficiencies in its functioning. Namma clinics are Karnataka’s community healthcare centres, similar to Delhi’s mohalla clinics.

“It is unfortunate that Karnataka’s Health Minister Shri Dinesh Gundu Rao visited Delhi’s Mohalla Clinic and observed its world-class facilities. Subsequently, he tweeted praising Namma Clinic as better than Mohalla Clinic. Karnataka’s Health Minister should visit Ward 94’s Namma Clinic in his own constituency and assess the quality of healthcare services being provided. Namma Clinic has hygiene issues, while the operations of Mohalla Clinics are monitored by a private agency,” the AAP said.  

AAP’s statement came after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had welcomed Rao’s visit earlier in the day, tweeting: “We have to learn from each other.”

Meanwhile, Rao told PTI that the manner in which mohalla clinics were being projected was “hyped”. He told ANI in another interview that there was “nothing special” about the mohalla clinic and it was not a “game-changer”. 

“I am not saying that it is bad, but it’s not like the way it is made out to be. This is my personal view, and there are other states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Kerala that have a better model,” he reportedly said.

The mohalla clinic was conceptualised by the AAP-led Delhi government to provide primary healthcare services, such as first-aid injuries, dressing of minor wounds and common illnesses such as fever. Medical services as well as essential medicines are provided free of cost, and the clinics provide testing facilities through an empanelled laboratory. 

The Kejriwal government has frequently promoted its mohalla clinics as one of its most significant “achievements”. 

The AAP is part of the INDIA alliance of 26 opposition parties, including the Congress. Despite stiff opposition from the party’s Delhi and Punjab units, the Congress leadership opted to support the AAP in Parliament against the ordinance-turned-bill which aims to take away the Delhi government’s control over transfer and postings of civil servants.

The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha earlier this week and is expected to clear the Rajya Sabha with the support of the YSRCP and the BJD.

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)

Also Read: Crumbling Covid-19 infra at Delhi mohalla clinics keeps doctors away, patients helpless