Patna: Ink was thrown at the Federal Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey of the Bharatiya Janata Party yesterday in a sign of anger over the government’s failure to check flooding in Patna and the outbreak of dengue.
The incident took place when the minister visited the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) to meet dengue patients.
Witnesses said the minister, dressed in a white outfit with a saffron coat, was coming out of the hospital ward when two youths threw ink at him and fled. The security guards accompanying the minister chased the youths in a bid to nab them but they managed to flee the scene.
Reports said the attackers emptied the entire bottle of ink on the minister, dirtying his clothes, face and also the car.
“This is not an attack on me but on democracy,” the minister told the media after the attack. He added such people have a criminal mindset and they indulge in such acts to grab attention of the media and enter politics.
The health minister has faced the ire of the masses for ignoring Patna residents during the recent rains that left a huge population trapped in their flooded homes for about 10 days. Heavy waterlogging in the areas has now resulted in an outbreak of dengue.
According to a latest report of the health department, of the total 1,757 cases of dengue reported from across Bihar, 1,273 were reported from Patna, the capital of Bihar state. Crowds of people are rushing to health centres for check-ups every day. On an average, 150 cases of dengue are being reported daily. On Monday, a total of 123 cases of dengue were reported of which 119 were from Patna.
BJP leaders have suddenly become the target of attacks of the masses after the Patna flooding. On Sunday, a large crowd protested at the ancestral house of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi for ignoring his neighbours during the crisis. Carrying placards and shouting slogans against him, the residents accused the BJP leader of fleeing from his flooded home with his family members on a government rescue boat while turning a blind eye to the plight of the neighbours.
As the people’s anger swelled further, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar initiated action against 45 officials including 11 engineers whose alleged inaction led to heavy waterlogging in Patna for close to a fortnight. The followed a marathon four-hour-long meeting the chief minister held with top officials of the state administration including the chief secretary Deepak Kumar on Monday evening.
Residents are especially angry at the BJP for failing to improve things in Patna despite all the major departments in their hands. At present, important portfolios such as urban development, health and public health and engineering department are held by BJP ministers while the majority of the assembly constituencies in Patna too have been represented by BJP leaders for about two decades.
