BJP activists protest outside hospital

Members of the BJP staging a dharna outside the hospital where the former Minister S.A. Ramdas is being treated in Mysore on Friday. Photo: Anurag Basavaraj

Tension prevailed on the Apollo BGS Hospital premises in the city on Friday when BJP activists prevented the woman who accused former Minister S.A. Ramdas of exploiting her from entering the hospital premises.

Mr. Ramdas was admitted to the hospital after he tried to commit suicide when the woman went public about the “affair”.

Many BJP workers, including members of the party’s Mahila Morcha, assembled outside the hospital since morning to meet him. But their numbers increased when rumours spread that the woman who had accused Mr. Ramdas wanted to meet him at the hospital.

There were heated arguments and tension for some time, as Mahila Morcha members flayed the police for preventing them from assembling at the hospital to visit their leader. “The police should prevent the woman from entering the hospital premises instead of stopping us,” they said.

Around noon, the woman arrived in a four-wheeler that was immediately gheraoed by BJP activists. The police were forced to use mild force to disperse the mob.

Some of the activists pulled the sliding gate of the hospital and prevented the vehicle’s entry. The police prevented the car’s occupants from stepping out, directing them to leave the place.

A section of BJP activists, mainly women, staged a dharna near the hospital’s main entrance and raised slogans. They were upbraided by the police and hospital security for being inconsiderate towards other patients, following which the activists dispersed from the scene.