New Delhi, June 4 (IANS) Delhi BJP President Harsh Malhotra on Thursday welcomed the decision of the Rekha Gupta government to withdraw the Bed & Breakfast Licensing Scheme that had been in operation in Delhi since 2007.

He also suggested that the government should similarly focus on strengthening safety regulations and compliance mechanisms for small nursing homes.

The Delhi BJP President said that the Bed & Breakfast Licensing Scheme introduced by the then Sheila Dikshit government in 2007 had, over the last two decades, become a means for illegal hotels to function under the protection of Congress and AAP leaders.

It was in view of these concerns that the BJP government decided last month to repeal the scheme and invite public suggestions for a new, stricter, and more transparent Bed & Breakfast licensing framework, said Malhotra.

The Delhi BJP President stated that, over the past year, AAP leaders have been seen making irresponsible political remarks after every accident.

However, the same leaders continue to remain silent about the tragedies that occurred during their own tenure, including the deaths of 10 people in the Bawana fire incident in 2018, 17 deaths at Arpit Guest House in 2019, 43 deaths in the Filmistan area fire tragedy in 2019, 27 deaths in the Mundka fire incident in 2022, and the death of seven newborn babies in a nursing home in Vivek Vihar in 2024.

Malhotra said that he does not wish to make any personal allegations, but it is a strange coincidence that when seven newborn babies died in a nursing home in 2024, Saurabh Bharadwaj was serving as Delhi’s Health Minister, and the role of his secretary, R.N. Das, was found to be questionable.

He added that the Bed & Breakfast licence of the hotel where yesterday’s incident took place had also been granted in 2024 during Bharadwaj’s tenure as a minister.

–IANS

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