BJP, Cong fight over Delhi’s ‘pulse’
12 Nov 2013 5:47 AM IST
While the Congress on Monday moved the Election Commission against BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan accusing him of making false and distorted claims on his role in the pulse-polio programme, Vardhan released a letter written to Microsoft founder Bill Gates thanking him in ‘high words of appreciation’ for the programme in India, which eradicated the debilitating disease.
‘The advertisements issued by the BJP and Harsh Vardhan are not only distorted but are contrary to the official records regarding polio cases in Delhi. Such a false claim during the operation of Modal Code of Conduct is not permitted,’ said K C Mittal, secretary of legal department of All India Congress Committee (AICC) in the letter to Delhi chief electoral Officer Vijay Deo and chief election commissioner V S Sampath. The ruling party punched holes on technical counts on claims made
by Vardhan.
‘It is revealed from the records that in 1998 there were 47 polio cases and in 1999 the number was 73. This by itself would show that his claim is false and misleading. Had Delhi been made polio free by the BJP in 1998, the number of cases in 1998-1999 would have been nil,’ said Mittal. He gave credit to the Sheila Dikshit government for eradication of polio from Delhi as the city did not record any case after 2000.
‘India’s success offers a script for winning some of the world’s most difficult battles in every area of human welfare,’ Bill Gates is reported to have said in an article recently referring to the success of pulse-polio programme. ‘Vardhan was accorded with the World Health Organisation’s Director-General’s Polio Eradication Champion Award in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, in 1998 for pioneering pulse-polio eradication programme in India which is globally known as ‘Delhi Model’.
It was an honour previously bestowed on the likes of US president Bill Clinton and football legend Pele. Vardhan has also written a book Two Drops of Life based on the programme and its model.
‘The advertisements issued by the BJP and Harsh Vardhan are not only distorted but are contrary to the official records regarding polio cases in Delhi. Such a false claim during the operation of Modal Code of Conduct is not permitted,’ said K C Mittal, secretary of legal department of All India Congress Committee (AICC) in the letter to Delhi chief electoral Officer Vijay Deo and chief election commissioner V S Sampath. The ruling party punched holes on technical counts on claims made
by Vardhan.
‘It is revealed from the records that in 1998 there were 47 polio cases and in 1999 the number was 73. This by itself would show that his claim is false and misleading. Had Delhi been made polio free by the BJP in 1998, the number of cases in 1998-1999 would have been nil,’ said Mittal. He gave credit to the Sheila Dikshit government for eradication of polio from Delhi as the city did not record any case after 2000.
‘India’s success offers a script for winning some of the world’s most difficult battles in every area of human welfare,’ Bill Gates is reported to have said in an article recently referring to the success of pulse-polio programme. ‘Vardhan was accorded with the World Health Organisation’s Director-General’s Polio Eradication Champion Award in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, in 1998 for pioneering pulse-polio eradication programme in India which is globally known as ‘Delhi Model’.
It was an honour previously bestowed on the likes of US president Bill Clinton and football legend Pele. Vardhan has also written a book Two Drops of Life based on the programme and its model.
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