New Delhi: Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s decision to visit former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the hospital with a photographer in tow – who took a picture of the minister standing beside a very weak Singh – has been criticised by his family and others as an invasion of privacy and an unwarranted health risk for a patient weakened by dengue.
The former PM’s daughter, Daman Singh, said he is stable but considering his age and the illness, his immunity is low. “It was nice of the health minister to express his concern and visit him at AIIMS. However, the family was in no state to be photographed at the time. My mother [Gursharan Kaur] insisted that the photographer should leave the room because of the fear of infection due to which there is restricted entry to the room but she was completely ignored.”
Daman told The Wire, “The family was naturally very upset because of it. We are trying to cope in a difficult situation. My parents are elderly people. Not animals in a zoo. Their request for privacy should have been respected.”
Many others have also pointed out that Singh does not seem to have been in a state to have been photographed and his right to privacy may have been violated. They also argue that additional people in the room may have been dangerous as the former prime minister is currently more susceptible to infections – something his family too was worried about, The Wire has learnt.
I know you all are concerned about the health of former PM Manmohan Singh but kindly do stop sharing photos of him from his hospital bed. It’s invasion of his & his family’s privacy & not good conduct in any way.
Advertisement— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) October 15, 2021
Wishing former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh a speedy recovery. Appalled that the Health Minister would take a photographer in to his hospital room without care for infections, apart from the violation of a patient’s privacy.
— Suhasini Haidar (@suhasinih) October 15, 2021
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People also questioned why the hospital would let a photographer into a patient’s room, especially without his family’s explicit permission.
It’s shameful that #AIIMS admin has allowed what’s medically unethical- giving permission to a random photographer to take pictures of former Prime Minister #Manmohansingh while he is getting treated in the hospital. Would the health minister be treated the same way? Stop it!!
— sanjay kapoor (@sanjaykpr) October 14, 2021
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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too visited AIIMS, and reportedly spoke to Singh’s wife and the doctors attending to him.
