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Journalism of Courage
Latching on to the controversy surrounding Karnataka health minister and senior Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao’s retraction of a “positive assessment” of the Mohalla Clinics run by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, Janata Dal (Secular) leader and ex-chief minister H D Kumaraswamy has said that the row indicated the possibility of the newly-created INDIA alliance of the 26 Opposition parties, including the Congress and AAP, not surviving for long.
Gundu Rao, who was recently invited by his Delhi counterpart Saurabh Bharadwaj to look at the functioning of the Mohalla Clinics in the national capital, reportedly praised them following his visit to a clinic, but took a U-turn within hours by saying it was “overhyped”.
Taking a swipe at the Opposition alliance, Kumaraswamy said, “What was his (Gundu Rao) first reaction – it was to say the clinics were good. Later he changed his view and said that it is not very good compared to Karnataka. We know how many doctors are there and the status of our clinics and hospitals. Let us wait and see what happens to INDIA after six months.”
The JD(S), headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, has not joined the Opposition bloc, although the party has been considered as its “natural member” by some quarters.
Like the AAP in Delhi and Punjab, the JD(S) is a rival of the Congress in Karnataka, where both parties slug it out it in the civic polls as well as the Assembly elections. It is widely believed that the JD(S) stayed away from the INDIA coalition due to objections from the Karnataka Congress leaders.
Deve Gowda recently said that the Karnataka Congress leaders did not want him to be part of the INDIA grouping, saying he did not attend the Opposition parties’ Bengaluru conclave because a section of the state Congress opposed his participation. “There was a meeting and a section of local Congress leaders said Deve Gowda would not attend . As a result they did not call me. Nitish Kumar (Bihar CM and JD(U) supremo) is my friend and he said that I should be called but the local Congress leaders said that I would not attend even if called,” Deve Gowda said.
“Sharad Pawar came to the meeting but what has happened in reality – they (Pawar’s party NCP) are going to support the NDA. There is a lot that happens in politics everyday. This has happened after the meeting in Bengaluru. The changes that will happen according to the situations cannot be predicted by anyone,” the ex-PM said.
In the Gundu Rao matter, the AAP charged that the former retracted his praise for the Mohalla Clinics after he received a phone call from local Congress leaders. Gundu Rao has not responded to calls for further comments on this row.
Significantly, the AAP attended the Bengaluru meet and joined the INDIA alliance only after the Congress publicly spelt out its opposition to the NCT Amendment Bill brought by the BJP-ruled Centre to take over services from the Delhi government.
Some Delhi Congress leaders like Sandeep Dikshit, who have suggested that it is wrong for the Congress to support the AAP on the Delhi services Bill, also opposed Gundu Rao’s praise for the Mohalla Clinics.
Accompanied by Saurabh Bharadwaj, Gundu Rao visited a Mohalla Clinic in Delhi’s Panchsheel Park last Friday, saying initially he was looking at the Delhi clinics to learn about aspects that could be replicated in similar clinics being set up by Karnataka over the last year.
“I wanted to personally see how these clinics are working. In Karnataka we have started Namma Clinics which is also based on the same model of Mohalla Clinics. I have also invited the Delhi health minister to Karnataka and see how the health system works there. Even Rajasthan is doing something good in the health sector and I have planned to visit that as well,” Gundu Rao had then said on social media.
He however changed his stance barely hours after visiting a Delhi clinic. “Visited a Mohalla Clinic in Delhi with hardly any people there. Our clinics in Karnataka have more facilities including a laboratory to do immediate tests for patients. I guess it is overhyped and I came back feeling disappointed,” he stated.
“It is not something great as it is being portrayed. I am not saying it is bad but it is not as it is made out to be. It is not a game changer. I did not see a lot of people there. We run primary health centres to super-speciality hospitals,” Gundu Rao said, speaking to the media in Delhi.
Earlier, Delhi CM and AAP supremo Kejriwal had said, “Karnataka health minister visits Delhi Mohalla Clinics. We welcome him and his team. We all have to learn from each other. Delhi will also learn from the good work done by Karnataka govt.”
Sandeep Dikshit had however sought to dissuade the Karnataka health minister, saying the latter had not seen the real face of the Mohalla Clinics in Delhi. “Wish you had met us also Dinesh Gundu Rao. Would have shown the real truth of Arvind Kejriwal education, health, finance, environment, water, roads, buses, infra, rampant corruption. Perhaps you could have conveyed this to his new drum beaters in Congress,” Dikshit had then said.
The BJP had also waded into the row, highlighting the fissures in the Opposition alliance while saying that the Congress leaders had “exposed” the AAP’s claims on Delhi Mohalla Clinics.
“After Dinesh Gundu Rao busted the ‘World Class Health Model’ of AAP by calling it overhyped now Sandeep Dikshit & Mr Maken continue to expose it further by saying that AAP indulges in rampant corruption & in every area the truth is something else,” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said on social media.
“With such friends who needs enemies! This isn’t anything close to spirit of INDIA, this is just an opportunistic alliance of people who have nothing in common least of all a mission or vision for the country! They are all together only to save their corruption & to try & stop the work of PM Modi. Amit Shah ji was right… Delhi services pe vote khatam – rishta khatam,” he charged.
