14 patients die as staff goes on strike in Jharkhand hospital
Ranchi, June 3: At least 14 patients died in the last 36 hours in the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) in Jharkhand as nurses and junior doctors of the institute were on a strike against an assault on one of its staff.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Sunday took cognisance of the RIMS incident and asked Chief Secretary Sudhir Tripathy and Health Minister Ramchandra Chndrabansi to hold talks with the nurses and junior doctors.
The trouble began when a patient Geeta Devi died after a nurse gave her an injection. Following her death, the nurse was thrashed by Devi's attendants on Friday night.
On Saturday morning, the nurses and junior doctors of RIMS went on a strike and did not allow admission of patients in the hospital while those already admitted were not provided medicine and treatment, resulting in the death of 14 patients.
The Chief Minister said that everyone had the right to protest but chaos would not be tolerated in the RIMS.
More than 2,000 OPD patients returned on Saturday and Sunday without treatment while family members of many patients admitted in RIMS shifted them to other hospitals.
On Sunday afternoon Chndrabansi and Tripathy reached RIMS for dialogue, following which the strike was called off.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
