New Delhi, May 18 (IANS): Questioning the claims of the AAP Government about 'Mohalla Clinics' during the pandemic, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday demanded an audit of the money spent into setting up of these clinics.

Former Delhi BJP Chief and MLA Vijender Gupta claimed that as Delhi was hit by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the hollowness of the Arvind Kejriwal government's claims about its healthcare model stood completely exposed.

Referring to the Delhi High Court's observation that 'Mohalla Clinics' were a waste if not used during the pandemic, Gupta raising questions about the effectiveness of these clinics in the fight against Covid, said, "The Arvind Kejriwal government opened 450 Mohalla Clinics but not even one such clinic has been of use during the pandemic."

According to Gupta, crores of taxpayers' money were spent on advertising these clinics and countless claims made on how the world is appreciating Delhi's healthcare model but today the condition of these clinics is pathetic as many of them are overrun by piles of garbage or lie abandoned like a haunted house.

"Not a single mohalla clinic could support Covid patients in this hour of need. They could not even be turned into isolation centres or be equipped with life saving oxygen or drugs. Meanwhile, people of Delhi were dying because of lack of hospital beds and oxygen shortage, which proved to be an AAP-made disaster only," he said.

Gupta asked the government where are those doctors and nurses working in the 450 clinics when they were needed the most and demanded an audit of the money that went into the setting up of these clinics. "Money spent on the non-functional clinics could have gone into building more hospitals, or buying ventilators or other life-saving equipment. But due to the callousness of the Kejriwal government, Delhiites were left to fend for themselves as black marketing soared and Delhi's health infrastructure was found wanting during the second wave of the Covid," he said.