Gajendra Singh Shekhawat tells COVID-hit family to ‘offer coconut to Lord Balaji’, defends remark later

New Delhi: Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat received flak for reportedly telling a COVID-19 infected patient’s family to “offer coconut to Lord Balaji”. 

While visiting the Mathuradas Mathur Hospital in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur to assess the prevailing COVID-19 situation, the senior BJP leader said, “You offer coconut to Balaji, everything will be alright,” as per a report by India Today. 

Soon after receiving backlash for his remark, the Union Minister on Monday (April 26) took to Twitter putting out a clarification. 

He tweeted (roughly translated from Hindi), "The doctors are doing their duty, have faith in Balaji and offer a coconut. God will take care of everything.’ The opposition must tell me, what is wrong in making this statement? How is it wrong to reassure a family whose patient is admitted in a hospital?”

"डॉक्टर अपना काम कर रहे हैं और बालाजी महाराज को आप नारियल चढ़ा देना, भगवान सब ठीक करेंगे" कहना किस नजरिए से गलत है? विरोधी मुझे समझाएं!

अस्पताल में भर्ती मरीज के परिजन को ढाढ़स बंधाना किस मानसिकता से गलत है, यह स्पष्ट किया जाए।

— Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (@gssjodhpur) April 26, 2021

“It is within my duty to convince a distressed mother to rely on both medicine and prayers and that is what I did. I have no doubt about the treatment being done by the doctors doing day and night duty there. Surely they are fully fulfilling their responsibility,” the minister added. 

The BJP leader also slammed the media for giving unnecessary attention to the issue.