The Government Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram (file image)
The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala on Wednesday (July 2, 2025) appeared to be scrambling to counter the Opposition United Democratic Front’s (UDF) narrative that the public health sector in the State was in irreversible decline.
A candid social media admission by Dr. Haris Chirackal, the Head of the Department of Urology at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Thiruvananthapuram, that the non-availability of critical devices had constrained him to cancel emergency endo-urology procedures, had triggered the political storm.
The doctor’s avowal went viral, sparking off raucous street protests by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) across the State, catching the ruling front off-guard.
The LDF’s pushback came in the form of an editorial in the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] mouthpiece Deshabhimani.
The article stated that the contentious social media post by Dr. Chirackal inadvertently provided sensational grist for the Opposition and right-wing media to obscure Kerala’s stellar achievements in the public health sector.
Notably, the editorial came close on the heels of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticising the doctor for raising a relevant issue in an inappropriate manner in a public forum, which he stated was not befitting a government servant.
Later, Dr. Chirackal said he accepted Mr. Vijayan’s criticism. He said he did not anticipate the bedlam which followed his social media post and requested that the parties concerned should not politicise the issue.
One-off red-tape-related delay: Govindan
CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan accused the Opposition of damning the State’s public health sector by citing “a one-off red-tape-related procurement delay.”
Minister for Culture Saji Cherian stated that the media and the Opposition appeared to have no criticism of the “predatory” private-corporate health sector, which charges patients exorbitantly.
Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Binoy Viswam cautioned that it was erroneous to infer malfeasance from the doctor’s candid expression of concern for the patients’ well-being. Nevertheless, Mr. Viswam said the government was competent to examine whether the doctor had breached service rules.
Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan accused the government of “threatening” truth-tellers and whistleblowers while appearing to protect them.
He said the UDF would resist any attempt to penalise Dr. Chirackal for “holding a mirror to the decay” in the State’s public health sector.
Published – July 02, 2025 02:03 pm IST
