A Bhopal man complaining about oxygen shortages at Damoh District Hospital in Madhya Pradhya was threatened by Union Minister and BJP leader Prahlad Patel on Thursday, 22 April.
The man, who has not been identified yet, said that the hospital had denied oxygen to his mother.
“It has been 36 hours. We are so desperate...They said they will give cylinders, but we did not get cylinders. Why don't they just tell us that they can't give us oxygen."
Patel, who was standing before the man as he complained and hurled abuses at the hospital, threatened, "Aise bolega toh do khayega (If you talk like this you will get two slaps)," Patel is heard saying in the video.
Patel, who is the BJP Lok Sabha MP from Damoh, asked “Did anyone deny you an oxygen cylinder?" The man replied, "Yes, they refused. We only got one for five minutes. It's better that you outright say ‘no’."
The minister can be seen consoling the man and trying to calm him down in a video uploaded on Patel’s Twitter handle.
The incident took place outside the Damoh District Hospital, a dedicated COVID facility where relatives of patients had looted oxygen cylinders on Tuesday. Visuals had shown angry relatives snatching cylinders and ransacking an oxygen storeroom.
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