"Political Vendetta": Kanhaiya Kumar On Alleged Fight At Patna Hospital

Kanhaiya Kumar, former president of Jawaharlal Nehru University students' union, misbehaved with a doctor and a security guard at AIIMS in Patna on Sunday. Mr Kumar had gone to the hospital to meet All India Students Federation (AISF) state secretary Sushil Kumar, who was admitted there after a shoulder surgery, when he had an argument with the staff. A case has been filed against him and his supporters, but Mr Kumar has described it as "political vendetta".

According to the First Information Report or an FIR, the doctor on duty had told Mr Kumar and his supporters to meet the patient one by one, but the JNU student wanted all of them to go together. This led to an argument after which Mr Kumar and others allegedly snatched the doctor's mobile phone.

The doctors' association said in its complaint that Kanhaiya along with about 100 others had visited the hospital Sunday night to meet an old associate admitted there. The doctors have threatened to stop Sushil Kumar's treatment and warned of an indefinite strike if "proper action" was not taken against Mr Kumar. Adequate security arrangements should be made to ensure safety of the staff, they said.

Kanhaiya Kumar, 31, has denied all allegations and said the Bihar police personnel who always accompany him can be questioned to verify facts. He also alleged that "Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey and BJP leaders from Delhi to Patna worked overtime to ensure that a case was filed against him".

"Every week, doctors from one hospital or the other go on strike. Have you ever seen Mangal Pandey work so hard to defuse the situation? But in my case, he worked overtime," Kanhaiya Kumar said.

Mr Kumar said that he is ready for any inquiry, CBI or judicial, but "how can the doctors say that they will deny treatment to Sushil?" "If something happens to him, who will be held responsible?" 
he asked.

Mr Pandey was unsparing in his criticism of the student leader. "This is not JNU where you can do anything and get away with it," the senior BJP leader said.

The minister's remark was aimed at the sedition charges against Mr Kumar over two years ago for allegedly raising anti-national slogans on the campus.

Kanhaiya Kumar is likely to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Begusarai in Bihar, his hometown, as a CPI candidate.

Begusarai, once considered a Left bastion, is currently represented by senior BJP leader Bhola Singh, who defeated RJD's Tanveer Hassan in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.