Hundreds of Mohalla Clinics across Delhi have been shut down in recent days, triggering sharp criticism from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which held a massive demonstration against the BJP government for dismantling Delhi’s public healthcare system to benefit private hospitals. Led by Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj and MLA Kuldeep Kumar, AAP workers gathered outside the Govindpuri Mohalla Clinic in Kalkaji, raising slogans against the decision.
During the demonstration in Govindpuri, Kalkaji, AAP’s Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, “Before the Delhi Assembly elections, Arvind Kejriwal had repeatedly warned people not to trust the BJP. He had said that if the BJP came to power in Delhi, even by mistake, it would gradually stop all the welfare schemes and facilities meant for the poor and the common man. Arvind Kejriwal had clearly stated during public meetings that if the BJP came to power, it would shut down the Mohalla Clinics where people receive free treatment, free medicines, and free tests.”
Recalling Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s own words, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Amit Shah himself had once said that a domestic worker at his house came to him and expressed fear that if the BJP formed the government in Delhi, all facilities would be discontinued. Amit Shah had reassured his domestic worker that it would not happen and that whatever Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said was like words carved in stone — that not a single facility for the public would be stopped. But even Amit Shah’s domestic worker didn’t trust the BJP’s promises. The person working in his house knew very well what kind of people they are. Yet Amit Shah lied to him just to secure a vote.”
He continued, “Now, when that domestic worker sweeps the floor and sees Amit Shah, he must be thinking that the Union Home Minister deceived him too, just for a vote. Perhaps he tells the driver, who tells the ‘dhobi’, who then tells the car cleaner — and in this way, the entire household staff must be saying that Amit Shah is a liar who did not even spare a poor man for one vote. ‘At least he could have told us the truth.’”
The senior AAP leader revealed, “The BJP government has already shut down 31 Mohalla Clinics in Delhi, and just two days ago, 170 more clinics were closed. In the next 8–10 days, more will be shut. The Mohalla Clinic on this very street corner serves 150–200 elderly, poor, and ordinary citizens daily. If they go to a private doctor, an OPD card alone costs ₹1,200, medicines cost around ₹1,500–₹1,600, and tests cost ₹2,000–₹3,000. This means that the ₹4,000–₹5,000 people used to save because of Mohalla Clinics will now become a burden on them. The only ones who will benefit are big private hospitals.”
He asserted, “As soon as the BJP came to power, it started working for the interests of private hospital and nursing home owners. Those who fall ill can not simply die — they will have to seek treatment somewhere. When free services at Mohalla Clinics are stopped, people will be forced to turn to private hospitals. Gradually, all government healthcare services, hospitals, and facilities will be privatised.”
The AAP Delhi chief further said, “The BJP will even privatise the brownfield, greenfield, and ICU hospitals built by Arvind Kejriwal, which together provide 15,000–16,000 beds. The BJP will hand over these government hospitals to private hands. One by one, every public facility will be dismantled. The Aam Aadmi Party will continue raising the voice of the people in different Mohalla Clinics, in different areas, on different days.”
Meanwhile, AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar stated, “In total, 121 Mohalla Clinics in Delhi are being closed — clinics where citizens used to get free treatment, free medicines, and free tests. The model of these Mohalla Clinics was so successful that foreign countries adopted it and delegations from abroad came to study it. But today, the BJP is putting locks on these very clinics. Arvind Kejriwal had warned during the elections that pressing the BJP’s button meant locking up the Mohalla Clinics — and that is exactly what the BJP has done. In the first nine months, tests were stopped, then treatment ceased, and after that, doctors and paramedical staff were removed.”
Questioning the BJP government’s intent, Kuldeep Kumar said, “What grudge is the BJP government taking out on the people of Delhi? The public now understands everything. People are seeing how the BJP is breaking the backbone of healthcare services. So many people have gathered here today because they used to receive treatment at this very clinic. There are 121 such locations in Delhi where clinics are being shut down.”
Condemning the government’s attitude, Kuldeep Kumar asserted, “The BJP government is imposing its ‘dictatorship’ on the people of Delhi, and the public will remember this. People will surely give the BJP a befitting reply. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is a liar. Six months ago, she had promised the paramedical staff that the clinics would not be shut down and no one would lose their job. But the clinics were closed, and she lied. Now, the people of Delhi are watching how the BJP is deceiving them.”
