Rajkot: Video Claims 250 Cataract Patients Woken Up At Hospital, 'Forced' To Join BJP; Party Denies Involvement

Rajkot News: A man allegedly forcibly registered cataract surgery patients as BJP members at a Gujarat hospital. The hospital and BJP deny any involvement, but an investigation is underway.

A video purportedly shows a man collecting OTPs and signing up patients at a hospital in Gujarat's Rajkot for BJP membership without their knowledge.

Source : X/@SachinGuptaUP

Rajkot News: A controversy concerning the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) membership drive has emerged in Gujarat. A viral video has surfaced, alleging that patients at the Ranchoddas Bapu Charitable Trust eye hospital in Rajkot were woken up in the middle of the night to be registered as BJP members following their cataract surgeries.

Reports indicate that patients from Junagadh's Trimurti Hospital were brought to Rajkot for cataract procedures on September 16. Allegedly, during the night, an individual woke the patients, collected their one-time passwords (OTPs), and signed them up as BJP members, The New Indian Express reported.

इस वीडियो के जरिये दावा किया जा रहा है कि करीब 250 मरीजों को रात 11 बजे उठाया। मोबाइल नंबर पूछकर OTP भेजा। फिर OTP लेकर उन्हें BJP का सदस्य बना दिया। ये मरीज मोतियाबंद ऑपरेशन के लिए आए हुए थे। वीडियो गुजरात में राजकोट का है। वीडियो बनाने वाले कमलेशभाई ठुमर अब भाजपाई हो चुके हैं। pic.twitter.com/P0PJmrV3LR

— Sachin Gupta (@SachinGuptaUP) October 20, 2024

Kamlesh Thummar, one of the patients from Junagadh, recorded the incident and shared it with the media. Many individuals only became aware of their new BJP membership upon receiving confirmation messages.

"I went to Rajkot for cataract surgery last Sunday and fell asleep around 8 PM," Thummar recounted, as quoted by New Indian Express's report. "Around 10:30-11 PM, someone woke me up, asked for my mobile number, I think it was for the hospital. Before I knew it, he took my phone, mentioned an OTP, and when I got my phone back, I was a BJP member."

"When I asked him, 'Did you make me a BJP member?' he replied, 'There’s no other way.' This shouldn’t happen. Out of 400 people, around 200-250 became members — those with mobiles. This is a scam; people were forced into membership," Thummar alleged.

Rajkot Hospital, BJP Deny Involvement In Alleged Membership Incident

According to the report, Shanti Wadoliya from the Ranchoddas Charitable Trust stated, "Our trust brings patients from across Gujarat for free cataract surgeries. On October 16, we held a camp in Junagadh, organised by Dr Chikhalia at Trimurti Hospital. The patients were later brought to Rajkot for their procedures."

"This issue has just come to our attention, and an investigation is underway. If any trust member is found involved, strict action will be taken according to the rules," Wadoliya assured.

India Today quoted Wadoliya as saying, "This person is not part of our staff. He could have been a contact of one of the patients. We will thoroughly investigate the matter".

Rajkot city BJP president Mukesh Doshi commented on the allegations saying, "I have ordered my zone secretary to investigate the entire matter, including identifying the person seen in the video. No one has been given instructions to wake up sleeping patients and make them members. Such overzealous actions will not be tolerated."

"All city BJP workers have exceeded their membership targets while staying within limits over the last 50 days. I strongly condemn this incident and assure a thorough investigation, considering it might be a conspiracy to defame the BJP," Doshi added, as quoted by the report.

Gujarat BJP Vice President, Gordhan Zadaphia, also denied party's involvement. "We have not instructed anyone to enroll people into the BJP in this manner, and no one from our office is involved. If such activities are taking place, we will look into it and take appropriate action," he said, as quoted by India Today.