Rahul no match for Narendra Modi, BJP will come back to power, says Yediyurappa
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa on Thursday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is no match for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asserted that his party would come back to power with absolute majority.
The four-time Chief Minister also sought to reach out to Muslims saying the BJP government has not done "injustice" to the minority community.
He was referring to the recent decision of the state government to scrap four per cent reservation for Muslims under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and placing them under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) pool.
Yediyurappa said the Congress is "day-dreaming" of coming to power and claimed that the M Mallikarjuna Kharge-led party would not cross the 65-70 seats mark.
Elections to the 224-member Assembly would be held on May 10.
"BJP will come back to power with absolute majority under the dynamic leadership of Narendra Modiji", Yediyurappa said at a press conference at the state BJP office.
"I wish to ask Congress party leaders who their leader is," Yediyurappa said. "Can Rahul Gandhi be equal to Narendra Modi?" he asked.
He further said Modi commands respect at international level and this would benefit the BJP.
Yediyurappa dismissed some pre-poll surveys which predicted that Congress would wrest power from the BJP.
"I have been in politics for 50 years. I know the pulse of people very well. We have built the party from grassroots level", he said and added that BJP's own surveys gave his party 130 to 140 seats.
The Lingayat strongman also saw a BJP-wave in the state.
He said the turnout of people during PM Modi's engagements in Karnataka and the response during the 'Jana Sankalpa Yatre' give a clear indication that the party would come back to power.
Yediyurappa recalled that he had predicted before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections that the party would win 25 out 28 seats in Karnataka and it had come true, and expressed confidence of a repeat of such a good electoral performance in the coming Assembly elections.
"We have not done injustice to the Muslim community. Let there be no misunderstanding. Reservation cannot be given based on religion. We have brought them under the EWS category", he said.
Hailing Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai for the government's recent decision on various reservations, he said, "For the first time in the history of Karnataka, or probably in India, our Chief Minister has done a great work on the reservation front and provided social security," Yediyurappa said.
The former CM noted that Lingayats now have seven per cent reservation and Vokkaligas six per cent, Scheduled Castes (left) six per cent, Scheduled Castes (right) 5.5 per cent, Bhovi, Banjara other communities 4.5 per cent and other SCs one per cent.
He also said that when he was the Chief Minister, he had formed Lambani Development Corporation and Thanda Development Corporation, and initiated steps to convert 'Thandas' into revenue villages.
Apart from this, he had also allotted land to the landless Lambanis.
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Woman's death: Under fire Pune-based Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital announces 'no deposit' policy
Pune (PTI) The Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Maharashtra's Pune city, under fire for allegedly turning away a pregnant woman over non-payment of Rs 10 lakh as advance for treatment, on Saturday announced it would no longer be taking deposits from patients at the emergency department.
The woman, wife of the personal secretary of BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe, had to be shifted to another hospital where she died after delivering twins. The incident hit national headlines and evoked strong condemnation from leaders cutting across party lines as well as protests from citizens' groups.
In an open letter, the hospital's medical director Dr Dhananjay Kelkar said, "In the early years of Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, we never took a deposit. But as the number of critical cases increased and the cost of complex treatments rose, the hospital began taking deposits in certain high-cost cases."
"However, in light of yesterday's events, we have re-evaluated this practice and passed a resolution that the hospital will no longer take any deposit from patients entering through the Emergency Department, including emergency deliveries and paediatric emergencies. This will be implemented with immediate effect," Dr Kelkar said in the letter.
ALSO READ: Woman died post delivery after Pune hospital refused admission over Rs 10 lakh deposit
He defended the hospital by reiterating that he had personally told the woman's kin to pay as per their ability and also offered all help, but they left with the patient without informing anyone.
While it is factually incorrect and unfair to hold the hospital directly responsible for the incident and the unfortunate death, the hospital is still investigating whether it showed adequate sensitivity towards the patient, Dr Kelkar added.
"I had myself told the woman's relatives to pay whatever amount they could as a deposit and assured them of complete support. However, they left the hospital with the patient without informing anyone," he stated.
Alluding to the protests at the hospital by various political parties on Friday, Dr Kelkar termed it as a "black day".
Without any regard for the hospital's legacy and services, a group participating in the morcha (protest) threw coins at the public relations officer, while some women activists allegedly barged into a hospital run by the parents of Dr. Sushrut Ghaisas and vandalized it.
Dr Ghaisas has been accused by the kin of the deceased woman seeking the deposit ahead of admission.
"Our heads hung in shame when some protestors blackened the names of Lata Mangeshkar and Deenanath Mangeshkar, all of this taking place in front of media cameras," Dr Kelkar said.
An internal inquiry report of the Mangeshkar Hospital had claimed on Friday that the allegations of denial of admission for non-payment of Rs 10 lakh were "misleading" and made "out of frustration" by her family.
The woman's pregnancy was in the high-risk category, and her two underweight foetuses of seven months, coupled with a history of an old ailment, required Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) treatment for at least two months, it said.
The treatment required Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the family was advised that in case of lack of funds, they could admit the patient to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital for a complicated surgery, it added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced the formation of an inquiry panel under the Pune-based Joint Commissioner of Charity to look into the incident.
