The Maharashtra government today assured the Legislative Council that all necessary medical treatment will be provided to jailed NCP leader and former state minister Chhagan Bhujbal. Bhujbal, lodged in Arthur Road Jail here since 2016 after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, was admitted to state-run J J Hospital on March 3 for pancreatitis and acute bronchial asthma. Today's assurance by parliamentary affairs minister Girish Bapat was preceded by a heated debate about the condition of hospitals in the state, against the backdrop of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar coming to Mumbai for treatment. The NCP had demanded yesterday that Bhujbal be shifted to a private hospital. Shiv Sena leader and Public Transport Minister Diwakar Raote today said that the tone of yesterday's debate over the issue suggested that some people were trying to disparage government hospitals. Council Chairman Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar said the issue had been debated yesterday, and the government should be allowed to decide on Bhujbal's treatment. NCP's Sunil Tatkare jumped into debate and asked under which rule Raote raised the issue today.
He also wanted to know why Parrikar came to Mumbai for treatment and if there were no good government hospitals in his own state. As ruling party MLAs objected to this remark vociferously, the chairman adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes. After the House reassembled, Tatkare withdrew his remarks about Parrikar. Bapat then said that Pankaj Bhujbal -- Chhagan Bhujbal's son -- had spoken to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. "The government has also spoken to Director General of Police (Prisons) over providing medical treatment to Bhujbal. The government will provide proper medical treatment to Bhujbal," he said. Raote said he merely wanted the government to clarify, as a wrong message could go that treatment at the government-run J J Hospital was substandard.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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