<p>Bengaluru South MP Tejaswi Surya and three BJP MLAs Satish Reddy, Ravi Subramanya and Uday Garudachar have claimed to have busted a Covid bed-fixing scam involving Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), but what they have really exposed is the failure or perhaps even complicity of their own party government which has allowed the racket to run unhindered for so long. It is also unbelievable that Surya and his team came to be aware of the racket only 10 days ago, as the issue was red-flagged by many NGOs in the past. BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta had himself smelt a rat and had appointed a three-member committee headed by IAS officer V Punnuraj to inquire into the “non-transparent and arbitrary manner in which beds are allotted” and to suggest remedial measures. Elected representatives, be it MPs or MLAs, are supposed to have their ears to the ground and it is shocking, rather intriguing that not one of them, including senior ministers from Bengaluru, had any inkling of the scandal that was thriving for about a year, right under their noses. Their collective ignorance has raised many eyebrows.</p>.<p>The modus operandi was simple. BBMP officers, in connivance with volunteers, touts and hospitals, would block beds in the name of asymptomatic patients convalescing at home. These beds would then be sold to symptomatic patients for Rs 30,000-40,000 or even more depending on the seriousness of the case. Critics attribute various motives to Surya’s belated action. While some describe it as a publicity stunt, others believe that the aim was to embarrass Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa at the behest of his detractors within BJP. But the fact remains that following the ‘raid’, the bed availability which was zero in the afternoon had gone up to 1,500 in the evening. However, the MP’s motive has once again come into question as he sought to give a communal angle to the episode by releasing the names of 17 people who belong to particular community as if only they were responsible for the scandal. This led to a vicious campaign by trolls against the community, including a senior officer who had nothing to do with bed allotment.</p>.<p>Politics aside, the racket has led to denial of beds to several deserving patients and their subsequent death. This is a crime against humanity and the culprits deserve to be tried for manslaughter for their act of cruelty. The inquiry ordered by the government will lead nowhere considering that some big names may be involved. Only a court-monitored probe will ensure that the ends of justice are served. </p>
<p>Bengaluru South MP Tejaswi Surya and three BJP MLAs Satish Reddy, Ravi Subramanya and Uday Garudachar have claimed to have busted a Covid bed-fixing scam involving Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), but what they have really exposed is the failure or perhaps even complicity of their own party government which has allowed the racket to run unhindered for so long. It is also unbelievable that Surya and his team came to be aware of the racket only 10 days ago, as the issue was red-flagged by many NGOs in the past. BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta had himself smelt a rat and had appointed a three-member committee headed by IAS officer V Punnuraj to inquire into the “non-transparent and arbitrary manner in which beds are allotted” and to suggest remedial measures. Elected representatives, be it MPs or MLAs, are supposed to have their ears to the ground and it is shocking, rather intriguing that not one of them, including senior ministers from Bengaluru, had any inkling of the scandal that was thriving for about a year, right under their noses. Their collective ignorance has raised many eyebrows.</p>.<p>The modus operandi was simple. BBMP officers, in connivance with volunteers, touts and hospitals, would block beds in the name of asymptomatic patients convalescing at home. These beds would then be sold to symptomatic patients for Rs 30,000-40,000 or even more depending on the seriousness of the case. Critics attribute various motives to Surya’s belated action. While some describe it as a publicity stunt, others believe that the aim was to embarrass Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa at the behest of his detractors within BJP. But the fact remains that following the ‘raid’, the bed availability which was zero in the afternoon had gone up to 1,500 in the evening. However, the MP’s motive has once again come into question as he sought to give a communal angle to the episode by releasing the names of 17 people who belong to particular community as if only they were responsible for the scandal. This led to a vicious campaign by trolls against the community, including a senior officer who had nothing to do with bed allotment.</p>.<p>Politics aside, the racket has led to denial of beds to several deserving patients and their subsequent death. This is a crime against humanity and the culprits deserve to be tried for manslaughter for their act of cruelty. The inquiry ordered by the government will lead nowhere considering that some big names may be involved. Only a court-monitored probe will ensure that the ends of justice are served. </p>
