2024-03-17 22:34:17
New Delhi: Hospital is also one of the biggest buyers of electoral bonds. State Bank of India (SBI) data shared with the Election Commission shows that its name is Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital. But which one? Despite the name being known, the identity of this bond buyer still remains a mystery. It is at number 12, just behind the top 10 bond buyers. Yashoda Super Specialty Hospitals purchased bonds worth Rs 162 crore between October 2021 and October 2023. It has become a mystery because there are three hospital chains named Yashoda in Ghaziabad and Hyderabad. It is another matter that all three have denied involvement in bond purchases.
Understand the whole puzzle. Actually, three hospital chains operate under the name Yashoda in Ghaziabad and Hyderabad. On Friday, a day after the identities of those who bought electoral bonds were revealed on the Election Commission’s website on the orders of the Supreme Court, the management of all three denied making any such donation.
Yashoda’s story in Ghaziabad
There are three Yashoda hospitals in Ghaziabad. One is in Kaushambi (Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital), the second in Sanjay Nagar (Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital and Cancer Institute) and the third in Nehru Nagar (Yashoda Hospital and Research Centre).
All of them started under the same group. It was managed by Dr. Dinesh Arora and his brother-in-law PN Arora. In the year 2017, both Arora legally separated. Kaushambi Hospital came into the hands of PN Arora and Nehru Nagar and Sanjay Nagar Hospital came into the hands of Dinesh Arora. Both Nehru Nagar and Sanjay Nagar are now run by Dinesh’s son Rajat.
PN Arora Group is building a new 1,200-bed state-of-the-art hospital, Yashoda Medicity, in Ghaziabad. Last year, the group had announced an investment of Rs 500 crore in front of UP Global Investors.
In a statement on Friday, PN Arora’s hospital management said, ‘We have come to know that there has been speculation about Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital, Kaushambi. There is talk of its involvement in political donations through electoral bonds. We want to clarify that our organization is not involved in this.
What did Dinesh Arora say?
Speaking to TOI, Dinesh Arora said that he has been associated with the Sangh. But, he has nothing to do with bonds. He said, ‘We have not given any political donation to any party in the form of electoral bonds. Even though ‘Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital’ is written on the signboards of our two hospitals in Nehru Nagar and Sanjay Nagar. But, both our hospitals are registered with the Medical Council.
On June 10, 2016, during his visit to Ghaziabad to talk about the achievements of the Modi government, then Union Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar attended a press conference held at Arora’s Kavi Nagar bungalow. He said, ‘At that time I and PN Arora had not separated. We lived in the same house. He further said, ‘I am not a political person. But, I am associated with RSS.
Yashoda from Hyderabad also sidelined
Hyderabad-based third hospital chain Yashoda Healthcare Services Pvt Ltd has also distanced itself from it. However, its owners G Ravinder Rao and G Surendra Rao had purchased bonds worth Rs 3 crore in their individual capacity. The hospital issued a statement after some media reports held Yashoda Healthcare responsible for the bond purchase of Rs 162 crore. “Unfortunately, the name of our hospital was wrongly quoted in the media,” it said. There are many hospitals with similar names in the country. Many people get confused by this.