Clarion India
NEW DELHI —A viral video of the Kanpur medical college principal in which she called Tablighi Jamaat members undergoing quarantine in her hospital as terrorists who should be sent to the jungle triggered a widespread outrage from across the country. People are demanding that Dr Aarti Lalchandani should face prosecution and she should be stripped of her medical license.
Social media is awash with messages that condemn Dr Lalchandni in strongest possible terms. Many said she was unfit to practice the noble profession because of her unabashedly prejudiced views that smacks of deep bigotry towards a particular community.
Meanwhile, Dr Lalchandni apologised for hurting the sentiments of Muslims and claimed that the video was filmed as a sting operation to blackmail her. She, however, denied having made such remarks and claimed that the video was morphed.
Dr. Aarti Lalchandani who spoke ill of Jamatis has now said she is extremely pained and hurt after her video went viral.
She said video was morphed and it was not her statements, it has been made and spread for extortion and blackmail.#Islamophobia_In_India@IndiasMuslims pic.twitter.com/hN9kxCe6NR
— αgαιηsтнεcυяяεηт (@iamwithtruth1) June 1, 2020
Following the controversy, her statements on the issue of her culpability have not been consistent. Earlier, speaking to a reporter of The Hindu she had said she did pass on the comments against Muslims in anger.
She’s sorry that she got caught. She’s sorry that she’s been exposed for the bigot that she is. She’s sorry that her name is mud. Believe me, that’s all she’s sorry about. A disgrace to the profession and to humankind…. pic.twitter.com/ZV9utCqBwx
— Ajay Kamath (@ajay43) June 2, 2020
Not just ordinary people, doctors also feel anguished at the comments of Dr Lalchandani. They are feeling dismayed and shocked to see one of their colleagues making such vile remarks that go against the very ethical basis of their profession.
Speaking to Clarion India, Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, spokesman of Progressive Medicos and Scientists Forum, said: “It is shocking to see how a doctor, that too a teacher, has a discriminatory and hate filled mindset. This is totally unethical and unprofessional.”
DR Bhatti is of the view that Dr Lalchandi’s comments were intentional. “The venom is there in her mind,” he averred.
He suggested that the tainted doctor should face law. This he said would set an example for all medical professionals including doctors and medical students. This way they “will get a lesson that such a behavior cannot be accepted”.
He, however, emphasised that Dr Lalchandini’s case must be treated as a personal matter and should not be portrayed as a representative image for the whole medical fraternity. “Doctors and health workers are working with dedication and treating all patients irrespective of their social and religious background.”
Echoing a similar demand for action, Dr Burhanudi Qasmi, Qasimi is an Islamic
scholar and is associated with Assam’s AIUDF of Badruddin Ajmal, said, “The Health Ministry should cancel her medical licence and initiate a legal action against her on charges of criminal conspiracy.”
Qasmi demanded her should removal from both administrative and teaching posts. “If a doctor has such a mindset, it is possible that she would cause harm to her patient,” he averred.
