Former Chief Minister of Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal Supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav has been transferred to RIMS, Ranchi by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi. AIIMs took this decision after questions were raised about the fodder scam convict Lalu Yadav meeting Congress President Rahul Gandhi in AIIMS. The convicted leader has been reportedly asked to move back to RIMS, Ranchi for further treatment by the AIIMS management, the statement from AIIMS says, “Lalu Prasad Yadav was referred to AIIMS for treatment of his acute medical condition. He has improved significantly and is being referred back to Ranchi Medical College for treatment of his chronic issues.” Lalu had previously been admitted to RIMs on March 17 after falling sick at the Birsa Munda Jail in Ranchi, and had been transferred to AIIMS from RIMS on the advice of doctors. He is serving a 14 year jail term owing to the many cases related to corruption in which he was convicted by the Ranchi High Court.
There is nothing new in political leaders using hospitals as a getaway from their jail time. The misuse of medical facilities allowed to prisoners, especially political ones has been often done in India. Lalu Yadav has used this trick countless number of times in the past as well, falling sick and getting well as per his convenience. He was visited by disgruntled BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha and Subodh Kant Sahay of Congress while he was admitted in the Ranchi hospital. His antics did not end here either, and since being transferred to AIIMs Delhi on the advice of doctors he has continued meeting his supporters in AIIMS. The recent visit by Rahul Gandhi was enough to boil the blood of the public who took to social media to vent their anger. The doctors at the hospital probably realised that Lalu Yadav was misusing his medical condition in order to stay in New Delhi in order to build political tie-ups.
There are no life-threatening ailments affecting Lalu Yadav as of now, and the ‘chronic issues’ he faces can be monitored and treated at any hospital in the country. The political misuse of the AIIMS premises did not go down well with the hospital administration who agreed to release Lalu Yadav immediately. Rahul Gandhi reportedly wanted to meet Lalu Yadav to bring him back to his fold after Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao started meeting leaders of various regional parties to create a non-Congress Third Front for the 2019 elections. Lalu Yadav has earlier been a minister in the UPA cabinet and has been a beneficiary of the Congress’s lenient approach towards scamsters.
The ‘no-nonsense’ attitude of the AIIMS administration did not please Lalu Yadav and RJD supporters, who started raising slogans and indulged in vandalism on the campus. They damaged the glass doors which resulted in injuries to a security guard of AIIMS, and an FIR request in this regard has been raised by the AIIMS administration. Lalu Yadav also wrote a letter to the AIIMs administration asking to reject the transfer to RIMS. He pleaded on the grounds of bad health and lack of facilities at RIMS. His antics might have worked under the UPA regime but he has started running out of luck in cases at courts and in hospitals nowadays. His loss in numerous cases and his unfavourable position in the countless ongoing ones have added to his misery. He is finally being held accountable for his crimes, and as for all the accusations he would like to put on the BJP or any administration, he has only himself to blame.
