Rajasthan Minister’s ‘Singing-Dancing’ Remark Amid Women Deaths Sparks Row

A statement by Rajasthan Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar – that critically ill pregnant women at Bikaner’s PBM Hospital were admitted in a serious condition and “did not come dancing and singing” – has triggered a political row, with the Congress attacking the BJP over the remarks.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said: “There were deaths of pregnant women in Kota. This has been followed by reports that women in Bikaner are in critical condition. The health minister should take this matter seriously. The government should do something to reassure women who are now afraid to go to hospital. When our government was in power, we had 90% institutional deliveries, but now there are reports of infection and substandard medicines.”

Gehlot urged the government to investigate the matter and reassure patients.

Health Minister Khimsar has not publicly responded since the controversy erupted. However, sources close to him told NDTV that the minister was quoted out of context.

According to the sources, Khimsar had visited Bikaner specifically to check on the health of five critically ill pregnant women. He visited each of them, shared their individual medical reports with the press, and was explaining to reporters that the women had arrived at the hospital in an already critical condition – and “not dancing and singing.”

The phrase has since become a sticking point for the BJP in Rajasthan, with ministerial colleagues finding it difficult to defend Khimsar.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Avinash Gehlot said: “He did not have any malafide intention. What he said was that, in reality, the women patients had come to the hospital in a serious condition. They have been given treatment, and he has prepared a report on the entire issue in Bikaner.”

Union Minister of State for Agriculture Bhagirath Chaudhary refused to comment, saying he was unaware of the facts and hence not in a position to comment.

But Urban Development Minister Jhabar Singh Kharra admitted that in public life, words should be chosen responsibly, though he added that he was not in a position to comment on the matter.

Defending the health minister, Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa said: “There is nothing like that. He did not intend to say something like this. It’s been quoted out of context.”

Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasara attacked the health minister, saying he cannot manage his department. “How will the people of Rajasthan receive health care when he cannot handle the department? He is behaving in a very feudal manner. In Kota, there were maternal deaths – one of them a mother who died leaving a small child behind – and the minister did not go there. Till now, the investigation report in that case has not been made public. And now we see a similar situation at PBM Hospital in Bikaner.”

The Rajasthan health department has recently been rocked by reports of maternal deaths.

In Kota in April, five women died within a span of one month. Of these, four had caesarean deliveries and their condition deteriorated soon after surgery, while one woman was five months pregnant and died during treatment.

In Bikaner, media reports of six women in critical condition after deliveries at PBM Hospital set alarm bells ringing, prompting the government to order an investigation and the minister to visit the hospital.

The six pregnant women in Bikaner are now stable and currently undergoing treatment.