JAIPUR: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot rose to the defence of his party and leaders, saying the reason why he and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi did not visit Kota was to spare further trauma to families whose children had died.
Gandhi was indirectly slammed by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday for failing to visit the hospital, despite being in Rajasthan on a private visit.
Gehlot argued that visiting mourning families, who have lost newborns, would have only added to the burden of the grieving families. Gehlot himself has been attacked by the Opposition for not visiting the Kota hospital where 110 infants have died since December.
Gehlot said : “When an infant dies, the parents are worst-affected and overcome with sadness, especially the mother who carries the child for many months. When they are in a state of shock, there is no meaning in visiting them and adding to their pain. The politics being played around the entire episode is very unfortunate,” he said.
BJP state president Satish Poonia had earlier questioned why Priyanka had skipped a trip to Kota despite coming to Jaipur for the wedding in a Congress leader’s family.