Nephew echoes CM on hospitals

Abhishek at Trinamul Bhavan. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Debraj Mitra, TT, Calcutta, March 4: Trinamul MP Abhishek Banerjee today visited the party headquarters for the first time since his accident in October last year and wasted no time in toeing the chief minister's line in criticising private healthcare in Bengal.

"If their (hospital owners) only target is to earn money, then I think they are running slaughterhouses," the Diamond Harbour MP told a 1,000-plus crowd outside Trinamul Bhavan in Calcutta.

Abhishek thanked the chief minister for bringing in the West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Bill, passed by a voice vote in the Assembly yesterday.

Asked several times if he was satisfied with private hospitals in the state, he said: "Not at all."

Abhishek's comments come against the backdrop of the chief minister reportedly instructing Trinamul leaders not to criticise private healthcare publicly as she was "there to handle" the issue.

The Trinamul MP had met with an accident on October 18 while returning from a meeting in Behrampore in Murshidabad. He had fractured the orbital bone below his left eye.

Abhishek was admitted to a private hospital in Calcutta, where he spent nearly a fortnight and underwent a surgery. Later, he had to go to Hyderabad and Singapore for further treatment.

"The titanium plate that was initially inserted into the orbit rubbed against the muscles and had to be replaced with a smaller one," Abhishek said today.

The MP said he was on steroids and other medication and had to wear a pair of protective glasses round-the-clock.

Abhishek arrived at the party headquarters around 4.30pm. His car stopped midway and he walked a few metres to the office.

"I was feeling claustrophobic at home. I am relieved I could finally come here," he said. "I am relatively better now. I can watch TV and read newspapers. I thank all my well-wishers."