Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir, along with several other BJP leaders shared a few images of a dingy mohalla clinic and wrote, “Is Harvard or Stanford conducting research on this Mohalla clinic? #FailedMohallaClinic.” The image shows a Mohalla clinic in the middle of piles of garbage and donkeys feeding on the dirt. Gambhir has shared the photograph in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic drawing heavy criticism for the BJP government over the country’s broken healthcare system.
क्या हार्वर्ड और स्टैनफोर्ड वाले इसी मोहल्ला क्लिनिक पर शोध कर रहे हैं? #FailedMohallaClinic pic.twitter.com/XnMXIGA4EU
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) May 28, 2021
BJP MLA Abhijeet Singh Sanga shared a screenshot of a video report by The Quint which said ‘Kejriwal’s ailing Mohalla clinic’. The same image was shared by BJP Delhi General Secretary Kuljeet Singh Chahal.
Mohalla clinics are 0% useful for delhi public during #coronavirus pandemic but 100% useful for
1. AAP workers who are receiving Rent , salaries, perks and free advertisement spave
2. Animals for resting
3. Goons and druggies #FailedMohallaClinic pic.twitter.com/7E6bWUKXSW
— MLA Abhijeet Singh Sanga (@BJP4Abhijeet) May 28, 2021
BJP member Dr Udita Tyagi shared a third image that shows heaps of garbage lying in front of the mohalla clinic. She wrote, “What happened to Delhi?”
क्या से क्या हो गयी दिल्ली 😐#FailedMohallaClinic pic.twitter.com/XuYHA4nEqe
— डॉ उदिता त्यागी (@druditatyagi) May 28, 2021
Several other BJP leaders shared a graphic criticising the AAP government that carries all the three images shared individually in the above tweets. BJP leaders Siddharthan, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Narendra Kumar Chawla, Bamba Lal Diwakar and BJP member Neetu Dabas were among those who shared the images. Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Charu Pragya too shared a montage showing these images.
Photos from 2018
Several users including Aam Aadmi Party members responded to BJP’s allegation, claiming that the images are three years old.
Dainik Jagran had published a report on June 19, 2018, that carries the first image. The report is headlined, “Kejriwal’s dream project Mohalla clinics has turned into shelters for donkeys and horses.” The report talks about the failure of the AAP government to operate the Mohalla clinic in Babarpur, Delhi.
Jagran again did a follow-up report on the Mohalla clinic situated in Babarpur’s Kabir Nagar in September 2018. The primary healthcare centre had turned into a shelter for alcoholics and gamblers. The report also carries other images recently being shared.
A subsequent advanced search on Twitter led us to several tweets including one by Youth Congress that posted newspaper clippings now made viral to target the Kejriwal government. (1, 2, 3)
The screenshot of The Quint’s report is a thumbnail of the video story done by the outlet in June 2018. The ground report is also about the dilapidated condition of the Mohalla clinic in the Kabir Nagar area of Babarpur. A local can be heard saying at the 1:38th minute that the clinic was not operational for a year and was abandoned after a fire broke out.
What is the condition of the clinic now?
The reconstruction of the clinic took place in 2019 and AAP MLA from Babarpur, Gopal Rai inaugurated the newly built clinic in the Kardampuri ward.
The municipal leader from Kardampuri ward Sajid Khan sent Alt News some pictures of the clinic.
Khan also addressed the misinformation in a video where he shows that the clinic has been renovated and is now fully operational.
BJP leaders tweeted three-year-old images of a dilapidated Mohalla clinic to target Delhi’s AAP government. The Mohalla clinic in Kardampuri ward in Babarpur has been rebuilt and is now fully functional. BJP MP Gautam Gambhir, who was among those who promoted the false claim, had tweeted similar misinformation last year when he shared a video of an under-construction Delhi government school. Boxer and Congress politician Vijender Singh had targetted AAP in 2019. He arrived at a Mohalla clinic at 2:40 pm and claimed that it was closed even as clinics function between 8 am to 2 pm.
[Update: BJP member Udita Tyagi was identified as former Miss India in the article. This has been removed. Her Twitter bio says she was Mrs India Worldwide in 2011.]
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