Manish Sisodia slams BJP for a 'false claim' on oxygen demand

According to a source, Delhi "exaggerated" its oxygen needs by four times during the second wave of Covid, and the excess oxygen delivery "hurt other states," igniting a new feud between the Centre and Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the capital. It is the interim report of a Supreme Court-appointed audit panel, according to central government sources. The AAP, on the other hand, claims that there is no such story and that the assertion is part of "malicious and misleading" propaganda.

In light of the report, the Center has said Delhi utilized some unacceptable formula to ascertain its oxygen needs and made overstated cases in court on April 30.

According to the interim report of a sub-group, which the Centre has submitted to the Supreme Court along with recommendations of a National Task Force on Oxygen, there is a gross discrepancy (about four times) in that the actual oxygen consumption claimed (1140MT) was about four times higher than the versus calculated consumption by the formula for bed capacity (289MT).

The sub-group includes Delhi Government Principal Home Secretary Bhupinder Bhalla, Max Healthcare Director Sandeep Buddhiraja, Union Jal Shakti Ministry Joint Secretary Subodh Yadav, and Sanjay Kumar Singh of the Petroleum and Oxygen Safety Organization, which is led by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria (PESO). The harsh conclusions on Delhi's "inflated" statements on oxygen needs come from the research included in the interim report by PESO, a central government institution.

“During the peak of the second wave in April, Delhi had a serious oxygen deficit. The Centre was in charge of oxygen management. They are not abusing Kejriwal in any way. They are targeting families who have lost loved ones owing to a shortage of medical oxygen through their claims.” Manish Sisodia affirmed.

The subgroup meeting was missed by Delhi Home Secretary Bhupinder Bhalla and Max Healthcare head Dr. Sandeep Buddhiraja. The interim report was criticized by the Delhi Home Secretary, who said that the committee was working with a "pre-conceived and preconceived conclusion and narrative." The computation, according to Dr. Buddhiraja, did not account for the office's oxygen cylinder refills and non-COVID requirements.

As per Arvind Kejriwal’s tweet, “My crime - I fought for the breath of my 20 million people When you were doing an election rally, I was awake all night arranging for Oxygen. I fought to get oxygen to the people, pleaded, people have lost their loved ones due to lack of oxygen. Don't call them liars, they feel so bad”