- Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari's son was seen at Ranchi hospital in a viral video
- BJP accused the minister of sending his son to inspect the hospital amid dynasty claims
- Ansari denied his son was inspecting and said he visited to meet his teacher's parent
Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari has drawn fire from the Opposition BJP over a video of his 19-year-old son Krish allegedly inspecting a top government hospital in Ranchi. With the BJP targeting the minister with its dynasty line of attack, the latter has denied that his son was inspecting the hospital and claimed that he was there to meet his teacher's parent.
A video that has gone viral shows Krish, an engineering student in Uttarakhand, at the Ranchi-based Regional Institute of Medical Sciences. The video, which was first posted online by Krish's friends, shows him at the hospital. A voice is heard telling the patients, "The minister's son is here. Tell him if you have any problems." Krish is then heard pointing to a man standing next to him. "Whatever problems you have, tell him." He is also seen discussing medical bills with hospital authorities. The visuals also show him with Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Sharing the video on X, Jharkhand BJP said in a post, "Just imagine to what level the cunning minds of these INDI thugs can stoop. Irfan Ansari, who is in charge of the health ministry of Jharkhand, is sitting at home and sending his son to inspect hospitals."
State BJP spokesperson Ajay Sah said every ministry in Jharkhand should now have a cabin for the minister's son. "In Jharkhand, symbols of dynasty are now being established instead of democracy. The finance minister's son will now check files, education minister's son will check teachers' attendance and health minister's son will inspect hospitals," he said.
Mr Ansari denied that his son was at the hospital for an inspection. "My son is full of compassion and always wants to help others. His teacher's parent was ill. I was in Delhi. When this came to my son's attention, he went to the hospital. There were other patients too from tribal communities in Jamtara and Dumka. To help them, he took money from his mother," he said.
"When I came to know about the remarks being made, I scolded him. But when I went to the hospital, I realised he did nothing wrong. Why will he inspect? Who is he? Anyone can go to a hospital," the Congress leader said.
"My son did not crush a farmer during a protest," he said. Mr Ansari was referring to the 2012 Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which former Union Minister and BJP leader Ajay Kumar Mishra's son Ashish allegedly ran over farmers protesting against the now-scrapped farm laws. "If my son goes and helps people, it must be appreciated. What issue is this? I want to tell the BJP, there are many issues. Don't drag my son into this."
