Third minister in Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet tests positive for Covid-19

A third minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, almost within 12 hours of another minister making it public late Tuesday night that he and his wife had tested positive for Covid-19.

The chief minister is also being treated for Covid-19 at a private medical college’s hospital in Bhopal since Saturday. Chouhan and the three ministers have tested positive for the virus in the span of a week.

The third minister who tested positive for the virus on Wednesday happens to be a minister of state hailing from Vindhya region.

Responding to messages from the chief minister, his ministerial colleagues and several other BJP leaders on Wednesday, who wished him speedy recovery from the disease the minister said, “With wishes of you all I will be fully healthy after defeating coronavirus.”

A senior state BJP leader too tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, the party’s functionaries said.

The senior BJP leader had accompanied the chief minister, state BJP president VD Sharma and a minister on a state government’s plane to Lucknow on July 21 to attend the funeral of Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon who had passed the same day after being hospitalised for more than a month.

The minister who accompanied the CM to Lucknow was the first minister in the state cabinet to test positive for Covid-19 on July 22, the day he attended the state cabinet meeting along with other ministers. The meeting was chaired by the CM who tested positive for the virus on July 24. Chouhan and the minister are being treated at a private medical college’s hospital in Bhopal.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and MLA from Jabalpur Ajay Vishnoi sought to know from the CM as to why all the VIPs have been compelled to get treatment in a private hospital.

“I wish chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji who is being treated in Chirayu hospital a speedy recovery. At the same time, my request to him is that while staying in the hospital he should see as to what is there in Chirayu which we couldn’t do in a single government medical college of the state in the past four months. Why are all the VIPs of the state compelled to take shelter at Chirayu?” he tweeted.

The opposition Congress was quick to react.

State Congress president’s media coordinator Narendra Saluja said, “The chief minister must reply to the question from the senior BJP leader Ajay Vishnoi. But this is not a question of just four months. The CM must tell people why the BJP government in its 15 years rule could not update a single government medical college of the state where VIPs could be treated for Covid-19. The health services in the state are in shambles. We see almost daily how people are suffering in various parts of the state because of want of health facilities.”

State BJP leader Dr Hitesh Bajpai said, “I have not seen the BJP MLA’s tweet. However, if there is a question it applies more to the Congress as it’s Congress which was in power when coronavirus spread in the state and the then Kamal Nath government absolutely did nothing to upgrade a single government hospital in the state where corona patients could be treated well. Instead he was busy in IIFA award function meetings for the sake of entertainment of the ruling party leaders.”