Forced aid

Legislators and ministers in India are used to having their every whim and wish fulfilled. So, the chagrin of UP’s MLAs at being ignored by doctors at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) is no surprise. Since the state government does not fund its operations, SGPGIMS’ doctors routinely ignore recommendations from MLAs and ministers for subsidised or free treatment for poor people from their constituencies. Of course, the Lucknow-based super speciality hospital is well within its rights, but MLAs across party lines considered the matter serious enough to raise it in the Assembly last week. State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Azam Khan, supported by BJP member Radha Mohan Das Agarwal and BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya, urged the Speaker to summon the institute’s director and set things right.