AAP: Officers forced to write ‘false notes’

New Delhi: Dismissing the Shunglu Committee report, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday termed it as “mud-slinging” and said “no irregularity” has been committed by the AAP government. He alleged that officers were forced to write “false notes” in the report. The committee, formed by the then lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung has pointed out “gross abuse of power” by the Kejriwal government.

“I have not seen the report, but as far as we are concerned, there is no illegality or irregularity. Our government has worked as per the Constitution in force till August 4, 2016. After that the high court made some amendment to it,” Mr Jain said.

He also rejected allegation on appointment of his daughter as “mission director” of Delhi State Health Mission, saying it was “all lies”. The approval for this appointment is made by the Centre, he added.

On the findings of the committee, Mr Jain alleg-ed, “Officers were called by the L-G, made to sit and write false notes in it un-der duress.” The term of former L-G Najeeb Jung had witnessed a continuous war of words between the L-G office and the AAP government over several issues. “This is all mud-slinging. In fact, probe should be done to find out why the files were suppressed for six months during Jung ‘saheb’s’ time. We had targeted 1,000 mohalla clinics by December 31, 2016, but, they sat on the files for six months,” he said.

“We did nothing wrong or illegal, but what was within our authority. If the L-G had thought, he could have changed it, then he could have changed it. We did what we deemed fit,” Mr Jain said.

AAP’s Delhi unit convenor Dilip Pandey claimed that the BJP has used similar tactics in the past and the report being made public just before the polls indicates that the party is rattled. “Why has the BJP not formed any panel to look into financial irregularities in the MCDs over the last 20 years,” he said.