Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Monday lashed out at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his "outsiders avail free medical facilities in Delhi" remark and asserted that Kejriwal's hatred for the natives of other states is coming out with his statements.
Kejriwal on Sunday alleged that "people from outside" were landing up in the national capital to avail free medical benefits meant for the residents of Delhi.
"Arvind Kejriwal's hate for people belonging to Bihar, Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh and other states is now clearly coming out. He may have political enmity with me but the hatred against people of Bihar and Purvanchal is not right. This clearly shows his frustration. He knows very well that he has lost the ground and the citizens of Delhi will give him a befitting reply very soon," said Tiwari.
Further speaking about the central government's Ayushman Bharat scheme, he said, "The Modi government is providing a medical scheme which provides a cover of up to Rs 5 lakh and it has been implemented in several states across including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. But the state government did not implement this health scheme here. Hence, Kejriwal's hatred for the people of other states is very clear. The citizens of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will soon teach a lesson to the Chief Minister".
Tiwari's remarks come a day after, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal while addressing a event had said: "The situation is such that a person from Bihar buys a ticket to Delhi for Rs 500 and returns after availing free treatment worth Rs 5 lakhs. It makes us happy as they are people of our own country, but Delhi has its own capacity."
"How can Delhi serve people of the entire country? Hence there is a need to improve the healthcare services here," the chief minister said
The chief minister said that people in Delhi had to stand in long queues inside hospitals to buy medicines and avail other healthcare facilities because of "people coming from outside to avail medical facilities here."
This is not the first time when BJP chief is slamming Kejriwal for his remarks for 'chasing out' the people belonging to other states.
A few days back, Kejriwal took a dig at the BJP chief and said, "If National Register of Citizens (NRC) is implemented in Delhi, BJP leader Manoj Tiwari will be the first one to leave the capital."
Tiwari lambasted Kejriwal for making this remark and said, "I would like to ask if he wants to say that a person who hails from Purvanchal is an illegal infiltrator, whom he wants to chase out of Delhi. People who have migrated from other states are considered as foreigners by you (Delhi CM)? You want to chase them out from Delhi, you're one among them."
On Friday, Tiwari also sent a legal notice to Kejriwal over his statement.
( With inputs from ANI )