New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) Former Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday accused the BJP-led government of discontinuing a scheme that offered free medical treatment to road accident victims in private hospitals. The Delhi BJP countered the allegation by claiming that scheme fell prey to corruption.

Bharadwaj said that more than 10,000 lives were saved under the previous AAP government’s 'Farishtey Dilli Ke' scheme launched in 2017.

Reacting sharply to the former minister’s allegation, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that under the name of public welfare, all the schemes implemented by Arvind Kejriwal turned out to be avenues for scams.

He said the Farishte Scheme is one such scheme that exposes the claims of the previous Kejriwal government about having a world-class health model.

Sachdeva said that since 2015, the former AAP-led government has been claiming world-class healthcare services and efficient hospitals.

In this context, he said, the people of Delhi are asking why, if all services were available in government hospitals, the government had to introduce the Farishte Scheme in 2017 to provide immediate free treatment to road accident victims?

“It is clear that either the government hospitals were non-functional, or the government’s intention was to send accident victims to private hospitals, where hefty bills could be generated under the pretext of providing services, thus, enabling commission-based corruption,” he said.

Sachdeva mentioned that in mid-2017, the Kejriwal government introduced the Farishte Scheme, but by mid-2023, this scheme had almost come to a halt.

He said, in other words, this scheme lasted for about 2,000 days in six years, and according to Saurabh Bhardwaj, only 22,000 people benefited from it.

“This means that during this period, there were about 11 serious accidents every day in Delhi, and all the victims had to be taken to private hospitals. This clearly indicates that either the government hospitals were non-functional or that there was collaboration between private hospitals and AAP workers for manipulation, resulting in the siphoning of government funds,” he said.

The Delhi BJP President assured that the BJP government and Delhi Police would provide the best medical facilities to road accident victims through government hospitals.