Hospital with Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi as trustees rejects Ayushman card, alleges Smriti Irani; administration denies

Smriti Irani has demanded "answers" from Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for the alleged lapse on the part of the hospital administration.

New Delhi: Union Minister and BJP candidate from Amethi Lok Sabha seat Smriti Irani on Sunday alleged that Sanjay Gandhi hospital, where Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi are trustees, refused to accept Ayushman card of a poor patient, a charge which was outrightly rejected by the hospital administration.

"I am speechless today. I cannot imagine that one can stoop so low. A poor person was left to die because he had Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s Ayushman card but the hospital was of Rahul Gandhi," tweeted Irani along with a 122-second video clip.

In the video, a young man can be heard saying that in Sanjay Gandhi hospital, Dr Sidhartha told him that Ayushman card won`t work here because the hospital is run by the Congress and Rahul Gandhi.

He had gone there for the treatment of his uncle.

Asked how his uncle is now, the man replies: "He died on April 26 itself." He also claims that the helpline number given on the Ayushman card could not provide the required help.

At the end of the video, a child introduced by the people as the son of the deceased appears.

Irani has demanded "answers" from Rahul and Priyanka for the alleged lapse on the part of the hospital administration.

"The trustees of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital -- Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should reply to the people of Amethi as to why a poor person was killed," she said in a tweet.

The hospital management has rejected these allegations.

SM Choudhary, Director, Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, said: "It is a baseless allegation. We have treated 200 patients under the scheme so far. The concerned patient did not bring the Ayushman Bharat card with him. Under this scheme, a patient cannot be admitted without the card."

Ayushman Bharat is the flagship healthcare scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which covers 10 crore poor families, and entitle them to avail treatment up to Rs 5 lakh at the tertiary level.

Irani is facing Rahul Gandhi from Amethi Lok Sabah seat which is set to go to polls on May 6. Rahul has been winning the seat since 2004. In the last Lok Sabha poll, Rahul defeated Irani in Amethi.