New Delhi:

BJP MP Varun Gandhi today wrote to Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak saying the “swift suspension” of the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital’s licence in Amethi, without a thorough investigation, is “an injustice” to all individuals who depend on the institution not only for primary healthcare services but also for their livelihoods.

“While accountability is crucial, it is imperative that principles of fairness and impartiality be upheld,” he wrote in a letter posted on X.

Urging the minister to reconsider his decision, taken after the death of a 22-year-old woman due to alleged medical negligence, Mr Gandhi said he hoped citizens’ access to medical services remains uninterrupted, while the government ensures a transparent inquiry that addresses immediate concerns, and identifies and rectifies any systemic issues that may have contributed to the incident.

“The hospital, whose foundation stone was laid by former Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi in 1982, has stood as a steadfast pillar of healthcare support for the people in Amethi and its neighbouring districts for several decades,” Varun Gandhi’s letter said, warning that suspending its licence has “far-reaching implications” for the region’s healthcare access, employment, and education.

The swift suspension of the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital’s license in Amethi, without a thorough investigation, is an injustice to all individuals who depend on the institution not only for primary healthcare services but also for their livelihoods.

While accountability is crucial, it… pic.twitter.com/9TJNcrIkvd

— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) September 22, 2023

In addition to its healthcare services, the hospital, named after his father, serves as a significant employer, with approximately 450 dedicated staff members and thousands of others whose livelihoods depend on the continuous operation of this institution, Mr Gandhi pointed out, adding that it also plays a role in healthcare education by training 600 nursing and 200 paramedic students yearly.

“Suspending the hospital’s licence unilaterally, without affording it any opportunity to explain, raises concerns, as this decision impacts healthcare access, livelihood, and educational continuity,” he said, and suggested the matter should be approached with “a sense of proportionality and fairness”.

In another post on X with a video report of a protest demonstration by the hospital staff, Varun Gandhi said only the ‘vision of humanity’ can do justice to their suffering, not the ‘arrogance of the system’.

सवाल संजय गांधी अस्पताल के 450 कर्मचारियों और उनके परिवार का ही नहीं, रोज सैकड़ों की संख्या में इलाज कराने वाले सूबे की आम जनता का भी है।

उनकी पीड़ा के साथ न्याय ‘मानवता की दृष्टि’ ही कर सकती है, ‘व्यवस्था का अहंकार’ नहीं।

कहीं ‘नाम’ के प्रति नाराजगी लाखों का ‘काम’ न बिगाड़ दे। pic.twitter.com/KsfxNuaPuk

— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) September 30, 2023

Suggesting the action had to do with the ‘Gandhi’ name in the hospital’s name, the BJP MP said resentment towards ‘name’ could spoil the ‘work’ of lakhs.

Sanjay Gandhi Hospital is run by Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust New Delhi and Sonia Gandhi is its chairperson while Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are the members of the trust.

New Delhi:

In yet another attack on his own party and the Centre, BJP MP Varun Gandhi has termed bringing cheetahs from Africa and allowing them to die “cruelty and negligence”, and called for a focus on conserving India’s endangered species.

Mr Gandhi’s remarks come in the backdrop of nine cheetah deaths in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park in a span of five months, and amid reports of the next batch of the big cats being brought from South Africa and introduced into the state’s Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.

As part of Project Cheetah, the first batch of the big cats, brought from Namibia, had been released in Kuno National Park by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday –  September 17 – last year. Sunday will be the first anniversary of Project Cheetah. 

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Gandhi tagged a report on the another batch of cheetahs and said, “Importing cheetahs from Africa and allowing nine of them to die in a foreign land is not just cruelty, it’s an appalling display of negligence. We should focus on conserving our own endangered species and habitats rather than contributing to the suffering of these magnificent creatures.”

Importing cheetahs from Africa and allowing nine of them to die in a foreign land is not just cruelty, it’s an appalling display of negligence.

We should focus on conserving our own endangered species and habitats rather than contributing to the suffering of these magnificent… https://t.co/atB0hFE8wC

— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) September 16, 2023

“This reckless pursuit of exotic animals must end immediately, and we should prioritise the welfare of our native wildlife instead,” his post said. 

This is far from the first time that the MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit has attacked his own party or a government headed by the BJP. At an event in Uttar Pradesh last month, he had asked people not to disturb a sadhu (ascetic) and said nobody knows “when ‘maharaaj ji’ will become the chief minister”.

The ascetic’s phone had started ringing, but Mr Gandhi had stopped BJP workers from asking him to switch it off.  “Please do not not stop him, never know when ‘maharaaj ji’ will become the chief minister. Then what will happen to us?” he had been quoted as saying by news agency PTI. The joke was seen as a dig at the government in Uttar Pradesh.  

Kuno National Park has seen the reintroduction of 20 adult cheetahs since September last year, and four cubs have been born there since then. Nine of the cheetahs, including three cubs, had died in a span of five months till early August this year. 

Some experts had attributed the cheetah deaths to the use of sub-standard radio collars, but the government had dismissed the charge as “speculation and hearsay without scientific evidence”.

Hearing a petition on the deaths, the Supreme Court had said last month that there was no reason to question the government on the moves being made to reintroduce cheetahs in India.

In an interview with PTI, Project Cheetah head SP Yadav said that the next batch of cheetahs will be imported from South Africa and introduced in the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, which will be ready to welcome them by the end of the year.

Pilibhit, UP:

In an apparent dig at his own party, BJP MP Varun Gandhi asked people at an event in UP not to disturb a sadhu standing nearby as nobody knows “when ‘maharaaj ji’ will become the Chief Minister”.

On Monday, when he was addressing party workers in his constituency Pilibhit, the sadhu’s phone started ringing. But the BJP MP stopped workers from asking the sadhu to switch it off.

“Please do not not stop him, never know when ‘maharaaj ji’ will become the Chief Minister. Then what will happen to us?” Mr Gandhi joked.

The video of the incident surfaced online with people interpreting it as a reference to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is also the Gorakshpeethadheeshwar of Gorakshpeeth. Mr Adityanath is always in a sadhu’s dress.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)