The bodies of the three minors were found in their one-room house in Mandawali area on Tuesday.
The Aam Aadmi Party-led government on Thursday came under severe criticism from opposition parties over the death of three minor girls due to starvation and malnutrition, with the state Congress calling it “complete failure of system” in the national capital.
State unit chief Ajay Maken, who met the deceased’s family, told reporters, “Such a sad and disheartening incident. It raises questions and clearly shows how the overall system has failed.”
Expressing shock over the hunger deaths in the capital, which has the highest per capita income in the country, he said, “It raises a lot of questions as the family was residing in Delhi for around four years. Despite being here for such a long time, the family did not have a ration card. How could the elder daughter, who went to school, die of malnutrition and starvation despite midday meals being provided in the school?”
“Where is employment – the father could not work and provide basic nutrition to his children,” he added.
Continuing his attack on the AAP government, Maken said, “Where was the Aam Aadmi canteen which was promised wherein the poor was supposed to get a meal for Rs 10?” The Congress leader added that if people living in Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s constituency could meet such a fate, “imagine what would be the everyday challenges faced by people living in other areas”.
The BJP also left no stone unturned to train its guns on the AAP administration. BJP leaders Ramesh Bidhuri, Parvesh Verma, and Maheish Girri claimed there was a “ration scam” in Delhi, resulting in subsidised grains not reaching the poor.
The area where the tragedy occurred falls in the constituency of Delhi’s deputy chief minister, Bidhuri said, adding that the state government only indulges in blame game.
East Delhi MP Maheish Girri said he has written a letter to the President, “requesting him to immediately dismiss the incompetent and inefficient govt of Delhi.”
Have written to Hon’ble Rashtrapati ji requesting him to immediately dismiss the incompetent and inefficient govt of Delhi, led by CM @ArvindKejriwal. Aaam Aadmi Party govt has completely failed to discharge it’s responsibility. pic.twitter.com/NSSHpDj2Nr
— Maheish Girri (@MaheishGirri) July 26, 2018
On Wednesday, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari had said that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should be ashamed. “The deaths happened in the constituency of Deputy CM Manish Sisodia,” he posted on Twitter. “Starvation deaths are still occurring in the nation’s capital under the Aam Aadmi Party government,” he added.
Speaking to reporters, Sisodia said the government has sought a report from the Integrated Child Development Services on the case. “I have sought a report on whether the concerned family was on our records. If yes, then why were the girls not helped?” he said.
The deputy CM added, “We have given an immediate financial aid of Rs 25,000 to the family and have also admitted the mother to the hospital. We will provide more financial aid once the father returns.”
The bodies of the three minors- aged two, four and eight- were found in their one-room house in Mandawali area on Tuesday. Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Hospital said the children were brought dead. The post-mortem report of the three sisters indicated that they died due to starvation and were also suffering from malnutrition, police said yesterday. There were no injury marks on the bodies, said a police officer, adding that they sought the help of a medical board from GTB hospital to conduct a second autopsy.
(With agency inputs)