BSY defends Surya amid row over bed-blocking scam

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday defended Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya following the controversy over the bed-blocking scam.

Yediyurappa congratulated Surya on behalf of the government for bringing the irregularities to light.

“Tejasvi Surya, with great difficulty, took a risk to expose the bed-blocking scam and brought it to the notice of the state government. I spoke to him for an hour at Vidhana Soudha and have taken strict measures to prevent bed blocking,” Yediyurappa said.

Yediyurappa lashed out at Chamarajpet MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, saying that it appeared as if the Congress leader thought that exposing the scam was a crime. “The MP has exposed only what was happening. People like Zameer should stop talking lightly about him now,” he said.

Read | The Tejasvi Surya effect: Trauma, harassment and suspension

Surya has come under fire for allegedly ‘communalizing’ the bed-blocking scam in Bengaluru.

A Congress delegation comprising the party’s working presidents Ramalinga Reddy and Saleem Ahmed petitioned Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant seeking action against Surya, MLAs Satish Reddy, Ravi Subramanya and Uday Garudachar for promoting enmity and ill-will between religions.

To a question on patients being brought near his official residence and the Vidhana Soudha for lack of beds, Yediyurappa said that it was not right to do so. “I am not saying it’s wrong on their part to express their pain. It is true they have problems and we are taking measures. There’s no need to come to my house or Vidhana Soudha. Immediately after officials are sounded off, they are trying everything to help patients get beds. We are pro-people,” he said.