Amit Shah is meeting Arvind Kejriwal, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Manish Sisodia.

New Delhi:

Union home minister Amit Shah is holding a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to hold a discussion on the coronavirus situation. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is also present for at the video conference.

Mr Shah had met the Chief Minister last Thursday when he held a review of the situation in the National Capital Territory, which includes parts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Delhi is expecting a surge in coronavirus cases, which might touch 1 lakh by the end of this month and 5.5 lakh by the end of the next month. Currently the national capital has more than 55,000 cases and Mr Shah has formulated an unified action plan for the whole of the National Capital Region.

Delhi and its neighbouring regions should come together in the fight against the virus and in view of its close-knit urban structure, it should be considered one, the minister had said.

Last Sunday, Mr Shah had held a meeting with the Chief Minister and health minister Satyendar Jain and issued a number of directions to contain and manage the spiraling cases of coronavirus in the national capital. Mr Jain had since contracted the virus and is currently in hospital. His situation has improved after plasma treatment, doctors said.

The flurry of meetings started after the Supreme Court sharply rebuked Delhi and several other states earlier this month over their handling of the pandemic.

“COVID-19 patients are treated worse than animals. In one case, a body was found in the garbage. Patients are dying and nobody is there to even attend to them,” the Supreme Court had said after media reports regarding Delhi’s Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospital.

The situation in Delhi was “horrendous, horrific and pathetic”, the court had added, seeking response from the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospital, which made headlines earlier this month over media reports about the conditions inside.

On Monday, Mr Shah had held a meeting with political parties in the National Capital Region. He also visited the LNJP hospital, where among other things, he ordered the installation of CCTV cameras in the wards.