Making Aadhaar mandatory to access healthcare services is cruel: Activists

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Kasturi, a 30-year old widow and her just born twins died due to negligence of doctors when she was turned away from hospital during her labour for not having Aadhaar card and other identity documents with her. The incident happened on Wednesday in Tumakuru Government hospital and has sparked debate across the state.

Activists say that the hospital’s action was cruel and disgusting. “Turning away a woman in labour for not having an Aadhaar card is inhumane and unacceptable. It has led to the loss of three precious lives. The medical licence of the erring doctors should berevoked and they should face criminal negligence charges. Adequate compensation should be released to the victim’s family,” said Sabba Khan, an activist and writer.

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar, who visited the hospital, suspended a doctor and three nurses, but some feel that the punishment should be more severe. “This is murder. The poor have zero value with these ministers. They are only interested in money and tenders. This incident shows the horrible negligence of this government time and again.

The staff should not only be dismissed, but also an FIR should be registered for killing the mother and child,” said BS Murthy, a citizen activist. Some local political leaders in Bengaluru also expressed their concerns over the rule regarding mandatory Aadhaar card and questioned the rationale behind it.

“It’s a shame on our health care system that such a thing happened. Having an Aadhaar card is more important than having a life. This shows that life has no value for the government and the hospital staff in government hospitals,” said Ashok Mruthunjaya, spokesperson, AAP.

Some locals also pointed out that a lot of migrant women and rural women in Karnataka don’t have access to Aadhaar cards or a ny ot her ident it y proof. Mandatory Aadhaar card in hospitals makes it difficult for these people to access healthcare services