BJP MLA dies of swine flu

Jaipur: The BJP legislator from Mandalgarh and a member of the erstwhile royal family of Bijolia, Kirti Kumari, died on Monday. The 50-year-old MLA succumbed to H1N1, commonly referred to as swine flu, while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Jaipur.

She was active in state politics for many years and defeated her Congress rival by a large margin in the 2013 Assembly elections. Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje expressed grief at her untimely death. “Her demise is a huge loss for me and for the BJP family,” she said.

Superintendent of SMS hospital, Dr Man Prakash, said that Kirti Kumari died due to H1N1. He said that she had been brought to Jaipur in serious condition on August 26.

She was later shifted to a private hospital on the insistence of her family members as there was no ECMO machine in the state’s biggest government hospital. She was placed on a ventilator but breathed her last at around in the morning.

Some Rajput community leaders alleged negligence in her treatment and said the government didn’t show promptness in ensuring treatment at best facility in Jaipur. “The death happened due to the negligence of the health department. She was not given proper treatment at the SMS Hospital and shifting to Fortis was delayed. No senior politician or minister from the government visited her when she was admitted to the SMS Hospital,” Rajput Sabha Bhavan president Giriraj Singh Lotwara said. However, her brother has denied these allegations.

Rajasthan has recorded third highest deaths from H1N1 in the country preceded by Goa and Maharashtra. In the month of August alone, there have been 19 deaths.