When a gaffe plays politics with serious issue

Sorry’ came handy for the Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami after he inadvertently expressed condolences to the parents of an 18-monthold, whose left arm was amputated due to medical negligence, thinking that child was no more. He demanded the State government to compensate adequately to the family and take measures to prevent such incidents. This gaffe happened in full media glare.

Though senior party leaders were quick to correct the former CM that the child was being treated, the damage was done. EPS explicitly expressed his contrition for giving wrong information and continued to attack the DMK government for alleged medical negligence. The incident has yet again exposed the shortcomings of politicians. Being the Opposition leader, EPS should be well-equipped by now to keep the ruling party on its toes.

Party insiders feel that their leader is attending press conferences unprepared, which exposes his shortcomings. Such goof-ups while dealing with a serious issue become fodder for meme creators and netizens, who take away the seriousness of the issue. Turning the table, Health Minister Ma Subramanian hit back at EPS that the latter was issuing false statements without knowing anything about the child’s health condition.

He returned the favour that EPS’s only aim was to find fault with the government medical care and created doubts about the abilities of government doctors. In the end, the actual issue of medical negligence seems to lose its value and becomes a blame-game.