Delhi ministers meet LG Jung after he calls for Sisodia's return

New Delhi: A day after Lt Governor Najeeb Jung asked Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to cut short his Finland visit and attend to the affairs in the national capital, which is reeling under dengue and chikungya, Health Minister Satyendar Jain and Culture Minister Kapil Mishra called on Jung on Saturday.

The leaders reportedly discussed on the strategies to reign in the vector-borne diseases during the meeting.

The opposition had hit out at the Kejriwal led AAP government, alleging that Sisodia was holidaying in Finland at a time when the city was reeling under diseases like chikungunya and dengue.

Reports had gone rife on Friday claiming that Jung had asked Sisodia to return from Finland in view of the crisis situation in Delhi, especially as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was away in Bengaluru receiving treatment for his persistent cough.

But an official source confirmed that no such official communication was received by the Deputy Chief Minister or the Indian Embassy in Helsinki from Jung’s office seeking Sisodia’s return.

“In any case, he was scheduled to return on Sunday, September 18,” the Indian Express reported, quoting the official source.

Sisodia also hit out at detractors on Friday, tweeting that he was in Helsinki to study the schooling system in the country and fix Delhi’s education woes, and not holidaying as was being portrayed.

Chikungunya is taking its toll in Delhi with death toll climbing to 30 and the number of cases increasing to over 1,700 this season and fever clinics getting swamped with patients.

Delhi government has also launched a helpline to provide medical assistance to people and help them locate nearest fever clinics. Meanwhile, the Centre has also sought a detailed report from Delhi government on deaths due to dengue and chikungunya, including medical history of the deceased.