Delhi BJP President Harsh Malhotra expressed his approval of the decision by the Rekha Gupta government to retract the Bed & Breakfast Licensing Scheme that had been operational in Delhi since 2007.
He recommended that the government concentrate on enhancing safety regulations and compliance mechanisms for small nursing homes. Malhotra highlighted that the scheme, initiated by the Sheila Dikshit government in 2007, had transformed into a way for illegal hotels to operate under the shield of Congress and AAP leaders.
The BJP government’s recent move to abolish the scheme and seek public input for a new, more stringent, and transparent licensing framework was in response to these issues, as per Malhotra. He pointed out that AAP leaders had been making irresponsible political comments following accidents, yet had remained silent about tragedies during their own tenures, citing incidents like the Bawana fire, Arpit Guest House deaths, Filmistan area fire, Mundka fire, and the Vivek Vihar nursing home incident.
Malhotra refrained from making personal accusations but noted the curious timing of events, such as the deaths of newborns in 2024 coinciding with Saurabh Bharadwaj’s term as Delhi’s Health Minister. He also mentioned that the Bed & Breakfast license for the recent incident’s hotel was issued in 2024 during Bharadwaj’s ministerial tenure.
