A shocking video has gone viral on social media, drawing ire over a Union Minister's rude reaction towards a man pleading for oxygen for his ailing mother. The exchange between Union Minister Prahlad Patel and angry kin has made headlines, mostly due to the way the former dealt with a sensitive issue.
Angry kin, whose mother was admitted to District Hospital Damoh where oxygen wasn't available, pleaded to the senior BJP leader to arrange for medical oxygen. Patel was on a visit to the hospital when the incident took place in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh and the heated exchange between the two was caught on camera. The video has since gone viral, drawing criticism and strong reaction from netizens.
Two slaps remark by Minister
The man alleged in the video that the hospital was trying to cheat everyone. "It has been 36 hours. We are so desperate...They said they will give cylinders but we did not get cylinders...Why don't they just tell us we can't give you oxygen," the unidentified man can be heard saying.
Listening to the grievance of the pleading man, the minister was irked by the tone and language, to which he responds: "If you talk like this you will get two slaps."
He then asks the man, "Did anyone deny you an oxygen cylinder?" The man replied: "Yes, they refused. We only got one for five minutes. It's better that you outright say no."
Taking note of the incident, Patel's office denied that the minster was threatening the man in the video, instead he was reprimanding him for the use of expletives. BJP spokesperson Dr Ashish Agrawal defended Patel, saying he is a sensitive politician and he reacted without knowing the gravity of the situation.
