As India continues to stagger under the menace of coronavirus, one of the most revered figures in the country, Amitabh Bachchan, announced on Saturday night that he too has been infected by the virus. Besides Amitabh Bachchan, his son–Abhishek Bachchan was also tested positive for COVID-19. Both the father-son duo had exhibited mild symptoms of coronavirus and were shifted to the Nanavati hospital in Mumbai as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward complications.
The following day, Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter-in-law and his 8-year-old granddaughter also tested positive for the infection.
Amitabh Bachchan’s ailment attracted a massive outpouring of wishes and prayers from his fans who not only expressed their love and support for the iconic actor and his family members but also wished them a speedy recovery from the illness that causes respiratory complexities.
However, while Amitabh and his son were hospitalised for the treatment of coronavirus, a set of depraved individuals were visibly rattled that the actors, despite exhibiting mild symptoms, were admitted to one of the best hospitals in the country, accusing them of exercising their ‘privilege of rich’ while the common people struggled to secure beds for their ailing relatives. Amitabh Bachchan, who has been an admirer of PM Modi, also came under the firing line of the liberals for praising AYUSH Ministry’s homoeopathic efforts to counter coronavirus.
Depraved liberals diss Amitabh Bachchan for being hospitalised when the symptoms were “mild”
These individuals, who associate and align themselves with the liberal-secular worldview, took to Twitter to express their hatred against the Bollywood superstar for being admitted to a hospital for his treatment, ostensibly when he was largely asymptomatic and was manifesting only mild symptoms.
Ashok Swain, an inveterate fake-news peddler, posted a mean tweet saying Amitabh Bachchan should have tried AYUSH Ministry’s “Voodoo medicines” instead of getting himself admitted to one of the best hospitals in the country. Failing to mask his hatred for Hindus, Swain called the actor as a “fraud” and equated him with the BJP leaders, who according to him go to the United States to treat serious illnesses but profess the use of cow urine as a panacea to their followers.
This Modi’s chamcha gets admitted to the best hospital in the country after getting a mild #COVID symptom – Why didn’t he try AYUSH Ministry’s Voodoo medicines? This fraud is same like BJP leaders, when they get cancer, they go to the USA, but tell the fools to drink cow urine! https://t.co/S0VNVlLiLW
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) July 12, 2020
Another political analyst, known for his myriad volte-faces and his knack of conjuring up fake quotes—Shivam Vij quoted Amitabh Bachchan’s tweet extolling the AYUSH ministry’s homoeopathic efforts to counter coronavirus and snidely remarked why the actor is undergoing treatment in a hospital instead of just taking homoeopathic ‘medicines’.
Why is he in a hospital when he can just take homeopathic ‘medicines’? https://t.co/C0QTiVfajs
— Shivam Vij (@DilliDurAst) July 12, 2020
However, as has been the case with Shivam most of the times, he lacks basic comprehension skills to fathom that Amitabh’s tweet lauding AYUSH ministry for its remarkable work in homoeopathy to counter coronavirus was not a call for people to shun allopathic treatment for COVID-19. Nor did Amitabh proclaim that the homoeopathic treatment for coronavirus effectively cures the sickness. He had simply posted a tweet hailing the ministry for its efforts in trying to find a homoeopathic remedy for coronavirus.
When several Twitter users highlighted that Amitabh is septuagenarian and is suffering from comorbidities, Vij tried to shift the goal post by questioning his son’s admission in the hospital. He added Abhishek has mild symptoms and there is no need for him in the hospital. From being a political analyst with perpetually vacillating views, Vij seems to have suddenly transformed into a COVID-19 specialist doctor.
“Mild symptoms”, no need to be in hospital
— Shivam Vij (@DilliDurAst) July 12, 2020
Similarly, Jas Oberoi, who is a columnist with newslaundry, said that the class divide in India is “apparent and blatant” as celebrities like Amitabh and Anupam Kher’s relatives get admitted to the hospitals while the common man is denied access to basic health care services.
Liberal hatred for Amitabh Bachchan stems for his association with PM Modi
This analysis that Amitabh and other celebrities are exercising their ‘privilege of rich’ is wrong on several levels, chiefly on the assumption that common man in need of health care facilities across India are denied the services just like they are being deprived in Maharashtra. Maharashtra has been the most potent coronavirus hotspot in the country and is currently ruled by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, led by Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray.
To extrapolate the Maharashtra government’s inadequacies to the rest of the country and alleging Modi government of prejudice is not only misleading but also patently wrong. The question about how common people are shunted away while celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan have been provided with access to beds in hospital should have been asked of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra and not of the actor.
Secondly, Nanavati Hospital is a private hospital in Mumbai where Amitabh Bachchan and his son have been admitted. It is not a government COVID facility where the admission of “mildly symptomatic” patients will result in the shortages of the bed for severe cases of coronavirus. As a citizen of India, Amitabh Bachchan has the right to health care and can get hospitalised in a privately-owned hospital if he deems it appropriate.
The Nanavati hospital is a private entity and the individuals who are capable of footing the exorbitant bills there can enrol themselves for the medical treatment. Liberals dissing Amitabh and Abhishek for their affluence and privilege should bear in mind that Nanavati Hospital remains a private enterprise, and is not expropriated by the government as initially advocated by Yogendra Yadav, Ashutosh Varshney, Ram Guha and others before retracting. Unless the state government has appropriated the hospital for the treatment of the COVID-19 patients, liberals accusing Amitabh of “privilege of rich” doesn’t hold water.
Thirdly, these depraved liberals, who had assumed the role of coronavirus epidemiologist during the start of lockdown, then refashioned themselves as Open Source Intelligence(OSINT) experts on India-China standoff, have now become doctors to dish out their recommendations on Twitter as to which patients deserve hospitalisation and which do not. However, the only thread that ties these liberals in all the roles they have assumed so far is their pathological hatred for PM Modi.
Liberals’ hatred towards Amitabh Bachchan is not a new phenomenon, it dates back to the period when PM Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat and the actor was roped in to promote tourism in the state. Since then, liberals have been smouldering with animosity towards the legendary actor, with the latest outrage against him being hospitalised for the treatment of coronavirus being just one of instances of the manifestation of their deep-rooted hatred for the actor.
