Prayagraj (UP) (PTI): A private hospital here has been sealed for allegedly transfusing fruit juice instead of blood platelets to a dengue patient who later died, police said.

After a video of the alleged incident went viral on social media, the district administration swung into action and the hospital was sealed on Thursday on the direction of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak.

The patient, Pradeep Pandey, was shifted to another hospital, where he died after his condition deteriorated, officials said. However, no FIR has been registered at the local police station.

The owner of the private hospital claimed that the platelets were brought from a different medical facility and the patient had a reaction after three units were transfused.

In a tweet, Deputy CM Pathak said, "Taking cognisance of the viral video at the hospital where a dengue patient was transfused with sweet lemon juice instead of platelets, on my directive the hospital was sealed and the platelet packets have been sent for testing."

"If found guilty, strict action will be taken against the hospital," he said.

According to sources, the patient died due to the transfusion of "wrong platelets" and the samples of those will be examined.

Asked about the reason for sealing the hospital, an officer, on condition of anonymity, said it has been done on the instructions of the chief medical officer and will remain so till the sample is tested.

Saurabh Mishra, the owner of the hospital, said that since the patient's platelets level dropped to 17,000, his relatives were asked to arrange blood platelets for him.

"They brought five units of platelets from SRN Hospital. After transfusion of three units, the patient had a reaction. So we stopped it," he said.

Mishra said that the platelets should be examined and their origin should be traced because they had the sticker of SRN hospital on them.

District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Khatri said, "An inquiry is underway and the platelets will also be tested."

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New Delhi: A significant political controversy has erupted following the Modi government's decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a move that has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties. The row was further fueled by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, who, while defending the name change, erroneously claimed that Mahatma Gandhi had made the devotional song "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" India’s national anthem.

The central government has rebranded the flagship rural employment scheme from MGNREGA to the "Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission," abbreviated as VB-G RAM G. The removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the scheme has been termed an insult to the Father of the Nation by the Congress and other opposition parties.

When questioned by the media outside Parliament regarding the opposition's allegations, Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut defended the government's decision by invoking Mahatma Gandhi's devotion to Lord Ram.

"How is naming it 'Ram Ji' an insult to Gandhi ji?" Ranaut asked. "Mahatma Gandhi made 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' the national anthem to organize the entire country. Therefore, this is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi? The government is fulfilling his dream by giving it the name of Ram."


Ranaut's claim regarding the national anthem was immediately seized upon by the opposition. Congress leader Supriya Shrinate shared the video of Ranaut’s statement on social media, tweeting sarcastically, "Come on brother, today we learned a new national anthem! The BJP is full of such gems."

Social media users also trolled the MP for the factual error. One user quipped, "Kangana ji forgot to mention that Bapu made this the national anthem after the country got independence in 2014," while another commented that the party finds people who "don't use their brains while forwarding WhatsApp messages."

Beyond the social media mockery, senior Congress leaders criticised the renaming on ideological grounds. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the move.

"The biggest irony is that Mahatma Gandhi was a lifelong devotee of Lord Ram and said 'Hey Ram' in his last moments," Gehlot wrote. "Today, the central government is making a despicable attempt to sideline Gandhi ji under the guise of the same 'Ram' name (VB-G RAM G), which is highly condemnable."