“Such things keep happening, nothing new”, Ashok Gehlot’s deplorable statement on Kota deaths

Ashok Gehlot, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, showing his apathy towards the death of 77 children in a hospital in this month, said that, “This is not something new, these things keep happening in the state.” 

According to media reports, the infants admitted in JK Lon Hospital of Kota were suffering from HIE or Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy [HIE], which is a serious condition where the brain ceases to function due to lack of proper oxygen supply to the brain, resulting in death. 

JK Lone hospital, situation in the campus of Maharao Bhimsingh Hospital, is run by the J.K. Group of Industries, Kota. 

As per the current reports, 77 children have died in JK Lon Hospital in the current month, with 10 kids dying within 48 hours recently. However, the CM of Rajasthan is not ready to accept that the lack of public spending on healthcare and poor governance is the reason behind the death. Instead, he is trying to downplay the gravity of the events and said that these things keep happening. 

This is typical ‘elitism’, as displayed by the other many other members of Congress party very often, and the complete apathy towards the poor and downtrodden section of the society. 

The aforementioned disease is a big problem in Rajasthan. As per a report by India Today, 1198 infants died due to this disease in 2024, and by 24 December this year, 940 deaths have been reported. 

This is the figure of a single hospital in Kota. Ever since the Congress-led government under the leadership of Ashok Gehlot has assumed power, Rajasthan has been in news for almost all the wrong reasons. If this is the case of one hospital here, imagine the plight of the rest of the hospitals in Rajasthan.

Even the Lok Sabha speaker and MP from Kota, Om Birla, had to address the issue as he tweeted, “I’m deeply concerned by the tragic death of 10 infants within 48 hours. Rajasthan government should immediately take due action and show some empathy”

Apart from the tweets, Om Birla also wrote a letter to Ashok Gehlot, explaining the need to look into the allegations of apathy levelled against the hospital administration of JK Lon Hospital, due to which 800 to 900 infants and approximately 200 to 250 kids die every year.

This is not the first time that Gehlot is making such insensitive remarks. Previously, he suggested that BJP is trying to take advantage of the post of President Ram Nath Kovind’s caste. Aiming for the ‘kori’ community to which President Kovind belongs, Ashok Gehlot had tried to imply that BJP had exploited the President’s kori caste roots to benefit itself in the elections in different states.

Congress party has many leaders who have complete disregard for common people. The party lost 2014 general election due to Mani Shankar Iyer’s jibe on Prime Minister Modi’s past as tea seller. But the party and its leaders leant nothing from the previous mistakes, and keep making such elitist remarks, which hurt public sentiments.