Health, politics... and the press

[Frederick Noronha]

Most of you would have run into this news, even if you didn't want to. In my case, someone gobbling a rice-plate two tables away was playing it very loudly at my favourite prawn-curry rice place on Saturday. It relates to the Goa Medical College.

It started off with this video, showing Goa's health minister, the articulate but controversial Vishwajit Rane verbally attacking a doctor on duty:
https://youtu.be/jv_jWNOX_Ps?feature=shared

Soon, the video went viral. Most viewers were shocked to see how a doctor-on-duty was being addressed, that too video-recorded and shared, and for what apparently was no fault of his. (He supposedly declined to administer a B12 injection in the Casualty on a day when the OPDs were shut.)

All kinds of questions came up. Who was the journalist? (Subsequently named.) Who had shot the video (not clear, some suggestion that the minister takes his own  camera persons with him...)

The IMA-Indian Medical Association came out with a strong statement.

Journalist Devika Sequeira wrote: Real culprit in health minister Vishwajit P Rane's unwarranted outburst against the chief medical officer at GMC is a self-important Marathi journalist who insisted his mother-in-law be given an injection. When the CMO directed him to the health centre, he called the dean and then Rane. Lapdog journalists are worse than politicians these days."

A doctor posted this on another group: "We had this ALL the time in the UAE. A 'local' would breeze into the hospital and demand any shit - B12 inj, CT, anything. We just moved out of the way and called the 'PRO', a local, who would intervene and try to direct them appropriately. Nightmare! If - if - this was over a B12 inj.,  I feel like vomiting 🤢. Rane would have to resign in the UK I'm pretty sure."

An online petition went out: Can you help me out by signing this petition?
https://chng.it/9GFm4Q8cjf

Journalist Kishore Naik Gaonkar put out another video, where he talks about Rane coming under some family property allegations, and him dismissing a number of Rane employees from some government undertakings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXvoL6m9c54&feature=youtu.be This doesn't seem directly connected with this case, but Gaonkar (in his Gaunkari channel on YouTube) was making the point of possible misuse of government departments for personal battles.

Finally, Vishwajit came out with some form of an apology: https://www.youtube.com/live/uYqHc-0B9o4?si=gGAmer17dsy9ae3B But the issue left behind many questions -- who was right and who was wrong? Should media persons be expecting special treatment in cases like this? Who shot the videos? And who shared the same? With what intentions?L How did it all go so badly wrong? Finally, what is the proper relationship between the Press and politicians, between politicians (even ministers) and the technical departments they run?

[Angela Ferrao]

Please name the journalist. Everyone else has been subjected to public pillorying

Instagram: @Ferraodesigns

Twitter: @Ferraodesigns 

https://www.facebook.com/Ferraodesigns

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